Joe Rogan Accuses Ex-Presidents of 'Throwing a Lot of Money' at Spotify to Get Him Kicked Off Streaming Platform Over His COVID Vaccine Claims — 'I Was So Far Ahead of Them'
Joe Rogan accused 'presidents and former presidents' of contacting Spotify trying to get him deplatformed during COVID.
June 18 2026, Published 3:45 p.m. ET
Joe Rogan claimed that multiple "presidents and former presidents" tried to pressure Spotify into dropping him over allegations he spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Rogan, 58, claimed powerful forces were working behind the scenes to silence him, alleging that "a lot of people and a lot of money" were poured into efforts to get him booted from the platform.
Joe Rogan Confessed He Was in a 'Unique' Position During COVID
Joe Rogan claimed he got a 'head start' in talking about the vaccine and alternative COVID treatments.
The podcast kingpin said critics wanted to stop him from sharing his views on COVID-19 vaccines and alternative treatments, and to shut down conversations with experts who challenged the mainstream narrative.
During the June 17 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, behavioral profiler guest Chase Hughes praised the host for speaking out, telling him, "We have people out there that are like you, and I'm not kissing your a-- here, but you're willing to say s--- that sounds preposterous at the beginning of something, and just make an observation that's real."
Rogan replied, "Well, the position that I was in during the COVID thing was very unique. So, it was almost easy for me because I had already gotten such a head start. I was so far ahead of them."
'Why Am I Green?'
Joe Rogan claimed CNN altered the tone of his Instagram video to make him appear more sick when announcing his COVID-19 diagnosis.
During the interview, Rogan also argued his enormous audience gave him a platform to challenge what he viewed as glaring inconsistencies in the official COVID-19 narrative.
"They didn't realize that my ability to say, 'Wait, this doesn't make any sense.' Like, none of this makes any sense. And also, why am I green?" he quipped, reviving his long-running feud with CNN over allegations the network altered footage of his COVID diagnosis announcement to make him appear sicker than he was.
"And also, why are you guys lying? Why are you lying about all sorts of different things?" Rogan continued, accusing media outlets and public health authorities of misleading the public about COVID-19 and its treatments.
'Presidents and Former Presidents' Allegedly Contacted Spotify About Rogan
Joe Rogan didn't name which presidents were allegedly working against him.
Rogan noted that he was in a "unique position" to speak out about the vaccine and alternative treatments, as he "had this large audience that they weren't aware of."
"The blowback was crazy. They tried to crush my sponsors. They organized campaigns. There were PACs involved. Thank god I was on Spotify, and thank god Spotify is not an American company," he explained, referring to Swedish cofounders and majority shareholders Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon.
"I can't even talk about it. But there were presidents involved and former presidents involved who were contacting Spotify. Trying to get me removed for vaccine misinformation," Rogan revealed.
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Joe Rogan Claims 'Money' Was Spent to Silence Him
Joe Rogan revealed he lost 'a lot of sponsors' during the COVID pandemic.
"And it turned out to be right. All of it," Rogan insisted of his past claims he made about the vaccine and alternative COVID-19 treatments he personally used, including Ivermectin.
Ivermectin has not been FDA-approved to be used by humans to treat COVID-19, but instead, is approved to treat certain parasite-related conditions.
CNN lambasted Rogan at the time, calling the medication a "horse dewormer," and other mainstream media outlets frequently called out the world's most popular podcast for spreading "misinformation."
"Not a single apology. Not a single apology from anybody. Not a single retraction, not a single mea culpa, not a single 'We were wrong'" the stand-up comic lamented about how he was raked over the coals by politicians and the media during the pandemic.
"I lost a lot of sponsors. I lost a lot during those days. It was interesting. It was a time when it was working," Rogan said about the campaigns to discredit him.
"I don't talk about it too much cause it's pretty deep," he warned, then gave the shocking revelation, "But it didn't work, right? But they tried, and they tried it. They spent a lot of money. A lot of money. It wasn't a small amount of money. It wasn't a small amount of people. It was a lot of people and a lot of money."
