Conspiracy Theorist Rips Joe Rogan Five Years After Appearing on Podcast

Comedian Owen Benjamin has distanced himself from Joe Rogan, asking why he's still on the podcast host's mind?

Benjamin was a regular guest on The Joe Rogan Experience, but he hasn't made an appearance on his show in over five years. Speaking about Benjamin on a recent episode, Rogan suggested he's not been the same person since taking an edible drug with comedian Joey Diaz.

Capturing the moment when Rogan mentioned him on a recent episode of the podcast, Benjamin took issue with the assertion and spoke out on Twitter.

"I haven't done this dude's show or been in L.A. in 5 years, why am I still on his mind?" Benjamin asked after hearing Rogan mention him. "His little digs and lies used to bother me, but I kind of get why he's like this."

During an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience broadcast on May 25, Rogan brought up his former guest during a conversation about drugs.

"He broke Owen Benjamin," Rogan said, as a story about taking edibles with Diaz on his podcast was brought up. "Owen was like, legitimately never the same person."

Video footage of Benjamin's appearance on The Church of What's Happening Now podcast in 2016 is available to view on YouTube, and in it he admits he's struggling with the edibles he took.

"I may be a 'crazy failed comedian' but I'm free and he knows it," Benjamin continued on Twitter, after describing how Rogan was pulled back into "the beast" for money. "For all of our differences, me and @joerogan actually have some very deep similarities. We both love freedom and the look on peoples face when you say the truth. I don't regret anything because I was always being authentic and I learned along the way. But back when I was being blackballed and all the comics were silent I went a little scorched earth. I sometimes miss some of those guys and not being the outsider."

He added: "But my life is better than I ever could have imagined it could be. And if one pot brownie 6 years ago had something to do with that, thanks Joey!"

Benjamin's tweet was widely shared on Twitter and Reddit, where a number of social media users turned the tables on him, accusing him of being "obsessed" with Rogan.

"All Owen does is project. Can he not see the irony that he never shuts up about Joe Rogan and all he has are short jokes rehashed over and over and over again," one Reddit user commented. "Dude but you always talk about him," a Twitter commenter said with a laughing emoji. @cryptoshakka360 called for the pair to reconcile. "Owen have u ever thought about speaking your truth to @joerogan?" The Twitter user continued, " I don't know either of you but I resonate w/ love and I feel like from a distance you're just as stuck on him as you say he is on you."

Benjamin first came to fame as an actor and stand-up comedian in the mid 2000s. He had supporting roles in movies like The House Bunny, Jack and Jill and Staten Island Summer. He was also briefly engaged to actress Christina Ricci in 2008.

Benjamin is now considered an alt-right comedian and conspiracy theorist. Since 2018, he has been embroiled in a number of controversies for things he's said. In 2019, Insider accused him of supporting "antisemitic conspiracy theories." He's also faced several social media bans for positing offensive content.

Three episodes of The Joe Rogan Podcast that featured Benjamin as a guest (#1093, #1033, #998) were some of the dozens that were removed from the show's library as it made the move exclusively to Spotify.