Dwayne ‘the Rock‘ Johnson has seemingly taken a step back from his support of embattled podcaster Joe Rogan. His decision came after fans pointed out the controversial podcaster’s use of the ‘n-word’. 

The ‘Fast and Furious’ star had earlier extended support to Rogan’s take on the artists removing their music from Spotify as a show of protest against the platform where Rogan has an exclusive deal. Several known names in the music industry, including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, removed their music from Spotify, accusing the platform of allowing Joe Rogan’s misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines to exist in the same space. 

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At the time, Johnson had stood by Rogan’s claim that he wanted to tell the truth and have interesting conversations. The ‘Jumanji’ actor commented “Great stuff here, brother. Perfectly articulated”, and added that he’d like to be on Rogan’s podcast and break out some tequila with him. 

However, Johnson played a different tune when fans informed him of the controversy involving Rogan’s use of a racial slur. 

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Rogan entered dangerous waters when singer India Arie shared a montage of clips where the podcaster used the n-word. She did it to explain why she chose to remove her work from Spotify.

Johnson seemingly rescinded his previous support, saying, “I was not aware of his N-word use before my comments, but now I’ve become educated to his complete narrative. Learning moment for me”.

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Rogan too has apologized for his use of this slur, adding that he’s not said it in years. The 54-year-old American also affirmed that there’s no context in which a white person should be allowed to use that word and the fact that he said it is horrible. 

Meanwhile, Spotify has quietly removed over 100 episodes of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’. These episodes featured controversial conservative figures, like the founder of the Proud Boys.