Joe Rogan on cancel culture attempt: ‘I gained 2 million subscribers’

What doesn’t cancel you only makes you stronger?

Attempts to cancel Joe Rogan have apparently only had the opposite effect: The “Joe Rogan Experience” host claims that he’s amassed millions of Spotify subscribers amid ongoing uproar over past episodes, in which he’d featured alleged anti-vaxxer guests and dropped the “N-Bomb.”

Rogan, 54, dropped the bombshell about his alleged influx of subscribers on Friday’s episode with British pundit commentator Douglas Murray.

“You have been put through the wringer since we last met,” exclaimed Murray, referring to the “Fear Factor” host being in the social media skillet. “They did a number on you. Wow.”

Rogan, who reportedly averages 11 million listeners an episode, responded: “It’s interesting, my subscriptions went up massively — that’s what’s crazy. During the height of it all, I gained 2 million subscribers …”

Joe Rogan reportedly averages 11 million listeners per episode.NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via

While Spotify doesn’t publicly disclose the number of JRE subscribers, sources have claimed that this subscriber base had grown consistently since he joined the platform — and didn’t surge due to any one event — according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Elsewhere during the episode, the “cancel-proof” UFC commentator roasted CNN, which had incorrectly claimed that he’d taken “horse dewormer” for COVID. (Rogan had actually taken the human approved form Ivermectin).

“Yeah, [the media] went for it. It’s also fortunate that the people who went for it were CNN,” he lamented. “They’re so untrustworthy and people know how biased they are and socially weird their anchors are.”

UFC announcer and podcaster Joe Rogan speaks at the weigh in before a UFC on FOX 5 event in Seattle, on Dec. 7, 2012. AP

The martial arts enthusiast also took pot-shots at the media conglomerate’s short-lived streaming service CNN+, which went belly up after three weeks, scoffing: “They spent 300 million dollars, they get 10,000 subscribers.”

“Imagine the hubris of thinking that something that people don’t want for free … that you’re going to charge money for it,” the funnyman had added of the epic flop.

Rogan had initially found himself in hot water over a “JRE” episode released on New Year’s Eve. In it, guest Dr. Robert Malone, who’s known for his purported anti-vax views, had compared the current US public health climate to Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, when the Nazis rose to power.

Rogan had initially found himself in hot water over a “JRE” episode released New Year’s Eve. In it, guest Dr. Robert Malone, who’s known for his purported anti-vax views, had compared the current US public health climate to Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, when the Nazis rose to power.REUTERS

In response, A-list musicians from Joni Mitchell to Neil Young pulled their music from Spotify in an attempt to get the platform to remove the podcasting juggernaut. Meanwhile, Rogan watchdogs made headlines that same month after sharing clips of the comedian uttering the N-word numerous times in his podcast over the years.

Spotify never acquiesced to the cancellation campaigns, although it did yank over 100 episodes, some of which featured well-known conservatives, far-right pundits or conspiracy theorists, including Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, Michael Malice, Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos.