Joe Rogan apologizes for his 'shameful' use of N word

US commentator Joe Rogan has apologized for using the "N word" and other "idiotic" racist language while hosting his popular but controversial podcast

US commentator Joe Rogan has apologized for using the "N word" and other "idiotic" racist language while hosting his popular but controversial podcast

US podcaster Joe Rogan apologized Saturday for his past use of racist language including the "N word" and said at least one offensive episode of his show has been deleted from streaming giant Spotify.

"My sincere and humble apologies," Rogan said in a nearly-six-minute Instagram post addressing what he called "the most regretful and shameful thing that I've ever had to talk about publicly."

The 54-year-old acknowledged he had a particular podcast episode removed which referred to his seeing a movie in a Black neighborhood where he said "it was like we were in 'Planet of the Apes'."

Rogan said his use of the "N word" over a 12-year period -- highlighted in a recently uncovered compilation video of him using the term -- looks "horrible, even to me."

"I never used it to be racist, because I'm not racist," he said.

"If a white person says that word it's racist and toxic, but a Black person can use it and it can be a punchline, it can be a term of endearment, it could be lyrics to a rap song, it could be a positive affirmation."

- 'Teachable moment'? -

Music legends Neil Young and Joni Mitchell as well as other artists asked that their songs be removed from the platform in protest of Rogan, who has been accused of spouting misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccinations, either directly or through the guests he interviews on his show.

"I can't go back in time and change what I said.... but I do hope that this can be a teachable moment for anybody that doesn't realize how offensive that word can be coming out of a white person's mouth -- in context or out of context," he said.

"I did not, nor would I ever, say that Black people are apes, but it sure... sounded like that," he said on his Instagram post which already racked up 3.6 million views.

It sounded "terrible," he acknowledged. "You can have clunky stories about anything, but not about race."

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