Podcaster Joe Rogan has identified the manosphere’s greatest contribution to the culture: the return of the disability slur “r—-d.”
“Every time I see people that disagree with any that’s happening, any gigantic world events, it’s one of these r——d shows where they’re screaming—there’s the word again,” he said, interrupting himself during Thursday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.
“We were just talking about that,” he added. “The word ‘r——d’ is back, and it’s one of the great culture victories that I think is spurred on, probably, by podcasts.”
Since last fall, right-leaning politicians, influencers, and comedians have all been doing their damnedest to bring a word that was once the purview of schoolyard bullies back into the mainstream.
For Rogan, however, the word never really left. He’s been using it for years and has even done comedy bits that involved mimicking disabled children. Last year, he announced that the word was “coming back strong” among high school kids.
President Donald Trump’s megadonor and top adviser Elon Musk also regularly throws out the word on his social media platform X, where he has nearly 219 million followers. He’s used it against astronauts, lawyers, A-list actors, students, and even Trump’s top trade advisor.
The world’s richest man said Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro was “dumber than a sack of bricks” and called him “Peter Retardo.”
And when Trump was running against former President Joe Biden, his aides reportedly had to stop him from nicknaming his opponent “Retarded Joe Biden.”
He eventually settled on “Sleepy Joe” instead, but after Biden dropped out of the race in July, Trump called his new opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, “r——d” during a Sept. 29 re-election campaign fundraiser.
Other men, however, aren’t so ready to embrace gratuitous slurs.
“Man, when they go low, they go real [low],” late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said. “Trump’s like a mole person tunneling his way to China. And when he gets there, he’s going to visit the place where they print his ‘God Bless the USA’ Trump Bible.”
During a March appearance on Bill Maher’s Club podcast, comedian Andrew Schulz talked about the importance of the American Dream.
“You see r—–s become millionaires, like actual people who are r—–d can become millionaires,” he said without missing a beat.
As Schulz, 41, spoke, Maher doubled over laughing at how ridiculous he sounded. Picking up on his host’s reaction, Schulz was quick to offer a convoluted explanation of why he’s still a good guy.
“I think the perception of comedians is that we say something, and if you’re offended by it, we’re angry,” he said. “And it’s, like, ‘You can react however you want to react to things.’ I don’t police your reaction. If you’re offended, that’s okay.”
“If I was talking to you, and you’re, like, ‘Hey, that makes me feel uncomfortable that word,’ I just won’t say it around you,” he continued. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t continue to make a joke that might have it in it, or say something with other people. On a one-on-one level, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
“Right,” Maher said. “Sure.”
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