Episodes with interviews by, among others, comedians Amy Schumer, Marc Maron and Bill Burr are among those removed, according to Rolling Stone. Spotify has not provided any explanation, and a spokesperson did not respond to inquiries from the New York Daily News on Sunday.
Used the N-word
The removal of the episodes comes after Rogan has had to apologize for repeatedly using the N-word, after the singer India Arie published a video of clips where Rogan uses the word well over 20 times.
“I know that for most people there is no context where a white person is allowed to use the word, and especially not publicly on a podcast, and I completely agree with that now,” Rogan said in a video on Saturday.
Taken out of context
– I have not used the word for several years. Instead of saying “N-word”, I just said the word itself. I thought that as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing, he continued. He goes on to say that the clips have been taken out of context, that they are only “bits” of conversations he has had, and that he has only used the word while talking about others who have used it, such as the two black comedians Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor.
Protest among artists
Rogan and Spotify were also involved in controversy earlier this week, when major artists such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren withdrew their music from the music service because they believe Rogan has spread conspiracy theories and misinformation about covid-19 on his podcast.
Rogan’s podcast is among the world’s most popular podcasts.
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