Joe Rogan’s dissatisfaction with mainstream media just got a notch higher! While the podcaster has always been a believer of free speech and has never shied away from appreciating his buddy Elon Musk’s role in upholding people’s voices through X, what’s grabbed his attention this time was an “unfair” practice that put comedian Jon Stewart’s career in jeopardy…

You see, Stewart had debuted an Apple series, The Problem With Jon Stewart, in 2021 as part of a multi-year deal. A veteran in the talk show landscape, the show covered complex topics ranging from gun violence to climate change. However, like all good things must come to an end, the comedian and the streaming giant “amicably” parted ways in October 2023. Or at least that’s what the narrative said until reports stated Apple’s dissatisfaction with Stewart covering certain topics.

The New York Times reported, “Mr. Stewart and Apple executives had disagreements over…potential show topics related to China and artificial intelligence…causing concern among Apple executives.” Remember this as you read the story further.

So what’s Joe Rogan‘s role in all of this? Well, doubling down on his role as an advocate of free speech, the podcaster dived into a detailed conversation about the Stewart-Apple fiasco, highlighting the current state of social media restriction, keying in on the $3.5 trillion company. He talked about how jokes are getting censored and canceled nowadays for the most minute of reasons. Censorship has led many comedians to either lose their livelihood or, at least, change their way of comedy to fit the current media landscape….

Speaking to the ‘Protect Our Parks’ crew, Joe Rogan said on JRE #2236, “I think he (Stewart) also got disillusioned by that Apple gig where they canceled his show because he wanted to do a thing on China, and they’re like, ‘No f—in way,’ and that was it. [You] can’t talk about China. You can’t even tell the truth. You can’t say if you’re on an Apple show, and Apple has this insane manufacturing deal with China—all their phones, everything. Bro, it’s the craziest thing, that these virtue-signaling people…”

As it stands, Apple’s business model is reportedly heavily reliant on Chinese suppliers manufacturing components of bestselling products like iPhone, iPad, and AirPods. As per the New York Post, half of Apple iPhones are manufactured in a factory in Zhengzhou which has been nicknamed “iPhone City.” Additionally, the country is also said to be a huge market for the tech mogul—in 2023’s first quarter, Chinese consumers were responsible for $15.8 billion in Apple’s sales. Did you know the controversy even reached US Lawmakers? But more on that later as…

During the podcast, Rogan also addressed the social media trial comedian Tony Hinchcliffe faced for his infamous Puerto Rico joke, and how it came about. “The joke was based on his need to…he gets freaked out about the environment. He gets freaked out about the pollution…he’s like, ‘How long has there been plastic? There’s only been plastic for six years. It’s bigger than Texas?’ So, he starts getting obsessed by garbage, then he finds out about Puerto Rico and so then he comes up with this joke…The joke was actually out of his concern that Puerto Rico is smothered by…he actually loves Puerto Rico…People don’t know the whole backstory,” Rogan revealed.

For the unversed, Hinchcliffe had made an appearance at a Donald Trump Rally at the Madison Square Garden in October this year, and joked, “I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah, I think it’s called Puerto Rico.” Concern-laced backstory or not, the comedian had faced immense backlash for the statement.

Hinchcliffe had later defended his stance, saying, “It was a speech about free speech, believe it or not. I am currently under attack. I am the news. I referenced Puerto Rico, which currently has a landfill problem in which all of their landfills are filled to the brim. I am the only person who knew about this, unfortunately. With that said, I just want to say that I love Puerto Ricans, they’re very smart people — they’re smart, they’re street smart, they’re smart enough to know when they’re being used as political fodder. Right now that is happening.”

On a separate note, it seems that Apple’s decision truly irked officials…

In line with Joe Rogan, US lawmakers had questioned Apple

According to a letter made public, U.S. lawmakers asked Apple Inc. to explain why the program ended abruptly. The letter asked Apple representatives for a briefing on their concerns. “While companies have the right to determine what content is appropriate for their streaming service, the coercive tactics of a foreign power should not be directly or indirectly influencing these determinations,”, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives Select Committee on Competition with the Chinese Communist Party told Apple CEO, Tim Cook.

In the letter, they also requested that Apple officially commit to accepting content that may be viewed as critical of the CCP on their Apple services. In the letter Michael Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi signed, they expressed worry for comedians whose careers had yet to blossom. They said that a prominent figure such as Jon Stewart could easily find another streaming platform to express his views on matters related to China.

However, an unestablished comedian who wants to use satire to make broader points about human rights and authoritarianism faces even bleaker prospects. Do you agree with Joe Rogan’s solidarity with Jon Stewart on this? Let us know in the comments.