Podcast host Joe Rogan has issued an apology over his use of the ‘n-word’ in older episodes of his popular show ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’. 

A compilation of his use of racist language from the initial episodes has now gone viral on social media. Responding to the criticism, Rogan offered his ‘deepest’ apologies for the ‘shameful’ use of the word, while also adding that many of the clips had been ‘taken out of context’.

In a six-minute video posted on Instagram, the 54-year-old said, “There’s a video that’s out, that’s a compilation of me saying the n-word. It’s a video that’s made of clips taken out of context of me of 12 years of conversations on my podcast, and it’s all smushed together.”

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The caption of the post read, “There’s been a lot of shit from the old episodes of the podcast that I wish I hadn’t said, or had said differently. This is my take on the worst of it.”

“I do hope that this can be a teachable moment for anybody that doesn’t know how offensive that word can be coming out of a white person’s mouth,” the MMA commentator added.

He said, “Now, I haven’t said it in years, but for a long time, when I would bring that word up, like, if it would come up in conversation and instead of saying the n-word, I would just say the word — I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing.”

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In a particular clip that has stirred controversy, Rogan could be heard narrating that after a taxi driver dropped him off in a black neighbourhood, it was like ‘they were in Planet of the Apes’.

Regarding the incident, he said, “I was just saying there’s a lot of black people there. But, then I went on to talk about what a positive experience it was and how much fun it was to go to see this movie in a black neighborhood.”

He added that he would never use the word again, calling this the ‘most regretful and shameful’ thing he had said publicly, reported TMZ.

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Joe Rogan’s podcast titled ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, has garnered millions of listeners since the comedian signed a $100 million deal with Spotify last year. Despite the skyrocketing listenership, several critics have accused him of spreading disinformation and inaccurate theories over Covid-19. In protest, several artists have sought removal of their music from the platform, starting with singer Neil Young.