Spotify CEO apologizes to staff for latest Joe Rogan controversy

Okay, it seems that the controversy with Joe Rogan and his podcast and Spotify is still going strong. CNBC now reports that Spotify's CEO, Daniel Ek, has sent a note to Spotify employees apologizing for the impact Joe Rogan's ongoing saga might have had on them.

Joe Rogan saga with Spotify continues as he removes some of his podcast episodes

On Friday, a compilation of Joe Rogan using the N-word in his podcasts circulated the internet, adding more fuel to the fire that the popular podcast host has been involved in recently. Not long after the compilation surfaced, Rogan described the video as "horrible" and stated that this was the “most regretful and shameful thing” he has ever talked about publicly.

A Spotify spokesperson provided CNBC with a note to staff that the company's CEO, Daniel Ek, had written. He has reportedly apologized for the way the controversy with Joe Rogan's show was impacting the employees of the popular audio streaming service.

Additionally, Ek underlined that Joe Rogan's comments do not represent the values of Spotify, and he acknowledged that many of the employees may feel "drained, frustrated and unheard.”


Dozens of Rogan's podcast episodes were removed from Spotify in the last few days; however, the company CEO stated there are no plans to pull Rogan completely from the platform.

“While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more,” Ek also said. He added that he doesn't believe silencing Joe Rogan is the solution to the issue, but instead, having more clear lines around content and taking action when they are crossed is a better way to do things.

Joe Rogan controversy doesn't start here

As many of you may already know, Joe Rogan's show has been causing controversy recently, which even had musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pull their music from the platform.

Rogan then went on to apologize for the situation in another post on Instagram, saying that he only invited guests to have conversations and was not trying to be controversial or to spread misinformation.