Aging rocker Neil Young got a harsh dose of reality, when he gave music streamer Spotify a choice between his music catalog and Joe Rogan’s influential podcast. His ultimatum backfired when the company chose their $100 million man.
Young, 76, wrote an open letter that urged his record label to threaten Spotify with losing his music if they continued to allow Rogan to spread “disinformation” about vaccines.
“I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” he said in a since deleted letter. “They can have Rogan or Young,” he added. “Not both.”
Spotify reportedly began removing the folk singer’s music from their streaming service on Wednesday.
In a shocking twist, the liberal co-hosts of ABC’s “The View,” also stood by Rogan, and remarked that Spotify “can’t just cancel” his podcast, but still don’t agree with his show’s content.
“It’s not Spotify’s job,” Joy Behar said. “We have a First Amendment in this country. We have to stick with it. You can’t just pick and choose when you want to use the First Amendment.”
Co-host Sunny Hostin claimed it was the streamer’s responsibility to remove controversial episodes and add disclaimers to the broadcasts.
“I’m not saying that Joe Rogan should be removed from Spotify,” Hostin remarked. “I do think, as the podcast’s platform, you have to have some sort of guidelines. How about a disclaimer on his podcast that says, you know, ‘This is misinformation.’ How about removing some of the podcasts that disseminate misinformation. You have to do something.”
Behar said the way to counter Rogan’s messaging is to boycott the platform. “The way we handle it is we don’t buy Spotify. We ignore Spotify,” she contended. “You can’t just cancel the show, because we have the First Amendment.”
Shock jock Howard Stern, who is “no longer friendly” with Rogan and very pro-vaccine, weighed in on the controversy.
“I don’t think Neil Young is for censorship. I just think he’s saying look, I don’t want to be part of this organization, because if my music is helping people bring people to the table, and then they’re spreading something as lethal as don’t take this vaccine, do this,” Stern explained.
“I’m against any kind of censorship, really. You know I really am. I don’t like censorship,” he added. “I don’t want to see Joe Rogan canceled. I don’t want to see Neil Young canceled, everything in this world comes down to money.”
Watch the clip:
HOWARD STERN SAYS DON’T CANCEL ROGAN OVER VAX VIEWS: After rock legend Neil Young demanded his music be removed from Spotify in protest of Joe Rogan spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine on his podcast, #TheView panel reacts to Stern’s take. https://t.co/HwcLhG1gxm pic.twitter.com/4Aw38rWxmP
— The View (@TheView) January 26, 2022
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