Piers Morgan weighs in on Joe Rogan and Spotify drama

Firebrand commentator Piers Morgan has weighed in on the Joe Rogan and Spotify stoush – while managing to slam Meghan and Harry again.

Piers Morgan has praised Joe Rogan, saying Spotify should give the podcaster the cash that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry make from their show with the streaming service.

The controversial UK commentator is the latest to chime in on the Rogan and Spotify drama after the streaming service sided with the podcaster by removing Neil Young and Joni Mitchell’s music from the platform after the musicians complained about misinformation, The US Sun reports.

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Piers Morgan has a long history of blasting Meghan Markle – and used the Joe Rogan controversy to take aim again. Picture: Valerie Macon/AFP

In a New York Post opinion piece on Monday, Morgan recognised the criticism Rogan once directed at him.

“Joe Rogan once branded me an ‘a**hole’’ after I called for more gun restrictions in America – and said my British accent should itself be restricted to ‘selling mops and non-stick cookware’ on late-night TV.

“To be fair, he was probably speaking for many of his fellow countrymen who understandably objected to being told how to live their lives by a snooty reincarnation of George III.”

However, Morgan agreed they were alike in some ways.

“Rogan’s got an open mind; like me, he doesn’t park himself into any particular political or social tribe, nor does he like or dislike people according to their partisan allegiance.

“Spotify should give Joe Rogan [the] cash Meghan and Harry make from their shows and tear up [the] royals’ contract,” he said.

Joe Rogan has come under fire after interviewing people including Dr Robert Malone who has been banned from Twitter for spreading virus misinformation. Picture: Supplied

Morgan also praised Rogan as a supporter of free speech.

“He describes himself as a ‘socially liberal’ man who supports gay rights, women’s rights, universal health care and recreational drug use, and he has publicly endorsed Ron Paul, Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard,” Morgan said.

“But Rogan also believes strongly in free speech, hates cancel culture, supports the Second Amendment and loudly condemns the appalling way conservative voices are constantly vilified and censored by liberal-run media,” he said.

Spotify pulls Neil Young music amid backlash

Joe Rogan moved his podcast to Spotify last year, after saying he didn’t like the censorship of YouTube, which was previously one of the broadcasters of his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.

Then, in December 2021, he came under fire when he broadcast hours of interviews with controversial doctors Robert Malone and Peter McCullough.

Dr Malone was banned from Twitter for spreading virus misinformation just one day before his interview was broadcast by Rogan.

The interviews saw an open letter from 270 medical professionals begging the platform to ditch Rogan’s podcast, as well as various musicians slamming the streaming service, including Canadian singer Neil Young.

Young wrote to his management in a letter posted to his website, but which has since been removed, upset over the “spreading [of] fake information about vaccines” and asking for his music to be removed from Spotify.

“They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” he wrote.

Spotify chose Rogan and removed Young’s music, among others. It has since faced a huge backlash for backing the podcaster.

After pulling the singer’s catalogue, Neil Young fans have threatened to cancel their monthly subscriptions.

Harry and Meghan shared their concerns over the Spotify stoush – while Piers Morgan took aim, suggesting the cash from the royals’ deal should instead go to Rogan. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP

Prince Harry and Meghan, who have a multimillion dollar deal with the streaming platform, also hit out at the company, saying they had spoken to bosses about their concerns.

They said: “Since the inception of Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement.

“We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis.”

Morgan, meanwhile, said he regularly listens to Rogan’s podcast, saying he admired the podcaster’s “fierce curiosity”.

“I regularly listen to his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience and it’s a brilliantly freewheeling, wide-ranging, sometimes combative, always fascinating series of conversations with people from all walks of life who hold all manner of opinions.

“I don’t always agree with what Rogan or his guests say, but why should I?

“We’re not living in North Korea, we’re allowed to hold different views to each other.

“But what I like most about him is his fierce curiosity and refreshing willingness to admit when he’s wrong or has simply changed his mind,” Morgan said.

This article originally appeared in The US Sun and was reproduced with permission