Old Joe Rogan Podcast Clip Sparks Discussion About Male Comedians and Rape Culture

In the clip, Rogan laughs at a comment about demanding oral sex from female comics in exchange for stage time

Joe Rogan at The Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena in 2019
Joe Rogan at The Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena in 2019.
Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images

Joe Rogan is facing backlash after an old clip from a 2011 episode of his podcast — in which he’s seen laughing after his friend and fellow comic Joey “Coco” Diaz discussed not allowing female comedians onstage unless they performed oral sex on him — resurfaced over the weekend.

“That’s the gateway into coming to Hollywood, everybody knows that,” Diaz says in the clip.

“How many girls did you have do that?” Rogan asks. When Diaz responds, “Oh, 20,” Rogan laughs and claps.

The clip comes in the wake of recent allegations of sexual misconduct and “grooming” underage girls against another comedian, Chris D’Elia. The two incidents have led others in the comedy world to take to social media and speak out about rape culture and misogyny that has long been pervasive in the industry.

Amy Schumer posted a message on Twitter, noting, “We are watching you and we are together now and we won’t accept this behavior whether you break the law or not.” Jen Kirkman posted a video urging other male comedians to call out their peers’ bad behavior, while Chelsea Peretti wrote, “If you’re a male comedian, one thing you can do is tell men to shut the fuck up when they are saying hateful shit about women and not go on podcasts that are racist and sexist.”

Others, including Parkland survivor and March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg, called out Spotify for recently signing a deal in excess of $100 million with Rogan to make his podcast an exclusive for the streaming service.

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