Podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan has been the subject of criticism over the past two weeks. His comments on Covid have become a lightning rod for critics. He was also the object of a Spotify protest by Neil Young. Trevor Noah has now criticized Rogan. The Daily Show for a conversation on Rogan’s podcast about skin color and what it means to be Black.
Rogan asked an ex-psychology professor questions in a conversation that took place on January 25, Jordan Peterson, “What did Michael Eric Dyson call you? A mean, angry white man?”
“Yeah, a mean, angry white man,”Peterson answered about Vanderbilt professor Dyson whom he debated.
“Hilarious,” Rogan shot back, “you’re not mean at all.”
“I am white,”Peterson responded. “Actually, that’s a lie, too. I’m kind of tan. And he was actually not Black, he was sort of tan.”
Rogan was inspired to share his thoughts.
“The Black and white thing is so strange because the shades are so…There’s such a spectrum of shades of people,”He said. “Unless you’re talking to someone who is, like, 100 percent African, from the darkest place, where they are not wearing any clothes all day and they’ve developed all that melanin to protect themselves from the sun, you know, even the term ‘Black’ is weird. When you use it for people who are literally my color, it becomes very strange.”
After watching a clip from the exchange, The Daily ShowNoah looked at his hands in pretend shock and quipped. “Oh my God! I’m not Black! I’m not Black! Joe Rogan’s right! I’m like a Caramel Mocha Frappuccino. This changes everything. This changes everything!”
Then he ran, stage left. He was soon followed by sirens, police lights, and sirens. It seems that even though one may not be Black in America, certain institutions, people, and people still view someone of African descent as such.
Noah said this as he returned to his desk. “The police said I’m Black. But yeah, apparently Joe Rogan really wants to know why they say ‘Black people’ if they’re not the color of a Sharpie.”
Noah, a South African, added some historical context to the conversation.
“The thing that people seem to be ignoring is that Black people didn’t call themselves ‘Black.’That’s right. It’s not like Black people were like, ‘We’re Black!’
“No, in Africa, we have tribes, we have cultures — Zulu, Xhosa, Baganda, Igbo, Wakandans — but then white people got there, and they were like, ‘Wow. There’There are many Black people in this area. A lot of Black people.’
“Then in America, they invented a rule that if you had one drop of Black blood in you, that makes you Black — which defined how you were treated by the government and by society. Even vampires wouldn’t bite you,”He laughed.
“Look at the up side,”Noah, at one point. “at least Joe Rogan wasn’t talking about vaccines.”
Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson shared their views on race, and it didn’t work out. pic.twitter.com/jTnmk0EVC9
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) January 27, 2022