Joe Rogan, the popular podcaster and self-styled free speech advocate who endorsed President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, has finally addressed the Trump administration’s attacks on Jimmy Kimmel.
Speaking to comedian Andrew Santino on the most recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the host described Kimmel as “a good guy, a smart guy, a funny guy,” adding that he has a “go f— yourself kind of style.”
“What he said was not bad. It wasn’t accurate, though, but it wasn’t bad. He was just trying to set up this joke [about] Trump, which was good,” Rogan argued.
Ultimately, Rogan said, “I definitely don’t think that the government should be involved, ever, in dictating what a comedian can or cannot say in a monologue.”
Rogan called those on the right who supported the actions taken by Nexstar and Sinclair, two major affiliate groups who pressured ABC to drop Kimmel in the first place, “crazy” for supporting a move that will inevitably be used against them in the future.
“The companies, if they’re being pressured by the government—so if that’s real—and if people on the right are like, ‘Yeah, go get ’em,’ oh, my god, you’re crazy,” Rogan said. “You’re crazy for supporting this. Because this will be used on you.”
“You don’t think that the f—–g globalist lizard people who run the world are sitting here going: ‘Great, what do we got—three years? We’ll wait this out. We’ll wait this out. Yeah, yeah, yeah, let them say the government should be involved in censoring people’s speech.’”
Rogan attributed his silence, which was notable enough to warrant headlines in Hollywood trade outlets and earn him call-outs from his peers, to being on an elk-hunting trip in Utah with minimal internet service.
Rogan also criticized those who were mad at him for not speaking up about Kimmel, telling them, “You don’t get to tell people what they should and shouldn’t comment on while you’re silent about Gaza.”
Disney walked back its indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday, announcing that the comedian would return to the airwaves Tuesday night. In response, both Nexstar and Sinclair said they would not be airing the program in their markets, which make up roughly 20 percent of local ABC affiliates.
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