While Joe Rogan is beloved by many, especially in the fighting world, he has a fair share of people who have a serious problem with him. Rogan’s steady rise of haters is not a recent phenomenon, but it got traction, especially in the last several years where many have accused the podcaster of making a hard ideological shift to the right, given his appetite for hosting (sometimes controversial) conservative commentators in this present political landscape. This talking point was further magnified when Rogan had US President Donald Trump on his podcast, leading many to believe that this was a deciding factor in the business mogul’s second election victory.

Perhaps, one of Rogan’s biggest detractors is Kimberley Lynton Williams, popularly known as Kim Williams. He is an Australian media executive who chairs the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Speaking at the National Press Club of Australia, Williams directed a scathing attack at the comedian and podcaster, accusing the former Fear Factor host of ‘preying on people’s vulnerabilities. Williams was asked about Rogan’s influence on the US elections, and whether ABC could replicate the ‘Joe Rogan Effect’ to capture the ‘Bro Market’.

“I am not a consumer or enthusiast of Mr. Rogan and his work. I am not one of the three billion [followers], and I’m unlikely to be three billion and one, any time soon. I think people like Mr. Rogan prey on people’s vulnerabilities. They prey on fear. They prey on anxiety. They prey on all of the elements that contribute to uncertainty in society, and they entrepreneur fantasy outcomes and conspiracy outcomes as being a normal part of [the] social narrative. I, personally, find it deeply repulsive, and to think that someone has such remarkable power in the United States, is something that I look at in disbelief.”, replied Williams, in the video shared by ‘Wide Awake Media’ on X (formerly Twitter).

“I’m also absolutely in dismay that this can be a source of public entertainment, when it’s really, treating the public as plunder, for purposes that are really quite malevolent.”, added Kim Williams, in his scathing attack of the comedian and podcaster. However, isn’t the first time Joe Rogan received criticism on a public platform. He was bashed for his infamous endorsement of Ivermectin to cure COVID-19, which many in the medical community were shocked by. He even spoke out about the vaccine mandates then and looked at it as a form of government control. Some say that COVID-19 was Rogan’s unbecoming and the start of his shift towards the right.

Despite being called out, however, Rogan took the opportunity to speak his case. Let’s see what he had to say.

Joe Rogan addressed the criticism he faced for talking about COVID-19

Rogan faced a lot of criticism for his comments on COVID-19 vaccines. In an old episode of his podcast with comedian Dave Smith, Rogan downplayed the use of vaccines to combat COVID-19, and proposed healthy living as a cure for the virus. “Are you healthy? Are you a healthy person? Like, look, don’t do anything stupid, but you should take care of yourself. You should—if you’re a healthy person and you’re exercising all the time and you’re young and you’re eating well, like, I don’t think you need to worry about this,” said Rogan.

The then-White House communications director Kate Bedingfield didn’t respond well to Rogan’s comments. In an interview with CNN, Bedingfield went after the podcaster, “Did Joe Rogan become a medical doctor while we weren’t looking? I’m not sure that taking scientific and medical advice from Joe Rogan is perhaps the most productive way for people to get their information.”

However, after the criticism, Rogan clarified in another episode that he was not an anti-vaccine person. He even responded by poking fun at himself, “I’m not a doctor, I’m a f—–g m-ron, and I’m a cage fighting commentator who’s a dirty standup comedian, who just told you, ‘I’m drunk most of the time and I do testosterone and I smoke a lot of weed’. But, I’m not a respected source of information, even for me.”

What do you think of Kim Williams’ scathing criticism of Joe Rogan? Do you think it was fair? Let us know in the comments down below.