Joe Rogan claims several former presidents invested 'a lot of money' to get him removed from Spotify because of his COVID comments

The popular podcaster Joe Rogan claimed that several former presidents of the United States and other political figures spent large sums of money to pressure Spotify and secure his removal from the platform during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," the host spoke with behavioral profiling, influence and persuasion expert Chase Hughes about social media influence and political pressure. During the conversation, Rogan revealed that his show lost numerous sponsors following his comments on vaccines and public health restrictions.

"Well, the position that I was in during the COVID thing was very unique," Rogan explained. "I had already — I’d gotten such a head start. I was so far ahead of them. They didn’t realize my ability to say, ‘Wait, this is — this doesn’t make any sense.’"

Rogan accuses former presidents of pressuring Spotify to take him off the air

The podcaster claimed there was "a lot of coordination" behind the efforts to remove his show, including presidents and former presidents who contacted the streaming platform directly.

"I can’t even talk about it, but there [were] presidents involved — and former presidents involved — that were contacting Spotify," the podcaster said. "[They were] trying to get me removed for vaccine misinformation. And it turned out to be right. All of it. Not a single [person] apologized."

"I lost a lot, a lot during those days," he added.

"Thank God I was on Spotify, and thank God Spotify is not an American company," he said. "And, also, it helped that I was No. 1 in, like, 90 countries and not No. 90 in one country, you know? That helped. That helped a lot."

Rogan accuses former presidents and progressive groups of exerting pressure worth millions

The podcaster did not reveal the specific names of the former leaders or the groups involved, but he noted: "They spent a lot of money. A lot of money. It wasn't a small amount of money, it wasn't a small amount of people. It was a lot of people, and a lot of money. That part was spooky."

In 2022, Rogan sparked intense controversy by questioning certain public health measures and by stating that he would not get vaccinated if he were young and healthy. He also shared his positive experience treating COVID-19 with a cocktail of medications.

Faced with intense pressure from various groups, activists and figures on the progressive spectrum, Spotify announced that it would add content warnings to podcast episodes addressing topics related to the pandemic.