Joe Rogan's Ben & Jerry's Comment Sparks Fury

Joe Rogan is being accused of "racism" online after saying that Joe Biden's cabinet couldn't "run a Ben & Jerry's."

The UFC commentator hit out at the president during Wednesday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. The 56-year-old cast doubt on the Democrat's mental faculties, before describing his cabinet as a "f****** sideshow of diversity."

"The thing with Biden is, he's gone," Rogan said. "You know he's gone. You're going to be relying on his cabinet, and I knew his cabinet would be this f****** sideshow of diversity.

"You can't have those kids of people running a Ben & Jerry's; you certainly can't have those kind of people running the f****** most powerful government the world's ever known," Rogan added.

Newsweek has reached out to Joe Rogan and Ben & Jerry's for comment via email.

Joe Rogan. Inset: Ben & Jerry's sign
Main: Joe Rogan performs at The Ice House Comedy Club on April 17, 2019 in Pasadena, California. Inset: A sign hangs over the entrance of a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop in the Old... Michael S. Schwartz/Robert Alexander/Getty Images Entertainment/Archive Photos

Rogan's comments sparked outrage on social media. "If you're Black, Brown, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, LGBTQ or hell, even a straight woman, Joe Rogan thinks you're a sideshow and too stupid to even run a Ben and Jerry's," @BlackKnight10k wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"Joe Rogan not even hiding his racism anymore," posted @Mel_Ankoly.

"Why Joe Rogan, a bigoted and racist WHITE man still is being platformed to spew hatred and lies? This is just disgusting," commented @iamchanteezy.

"The sly-racism of people like Joe Rogan. He'll do a comedy show with you, crack a joke with you, but your people shouldn't be running a Ben & Jerry's, much less a country," wrote @TopherAqil. "He believes diversity has a place, and decision-making positions are NOT it."

Rogan also appeared to endorse Trump during the show, or at least, suggest the former president is the lesser of two evils.

The political rivals are likely to land the Democratic and Republican nominations ahead of the general election in November, with Trump running uncontested and Biden polling more than 70 points ahead of his only rival, author Marianne Williamson, per polling aggregators FiveThirtyEight.

"I'd vote for Trump before I'd vote for Biden," Rogan told his guests, Black Keys vocalist and guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, before discussing the concerns surrounding Biden's age.

Critics have long targeted the 81-year-old's age and alleged memory issues. However, a recent poll by The New York Times found that Democrats are also anxious about Biden's capabilities. Seventy-three percent of registered voters surveyed believe the Democrat is "too old" to lead the country, including 61 percent of those who voted for Biden in the 2020 general election.

Nevertheless, Trump's age was also a concern, with 42 percent of participants feeling the business mogul, who turns 78 in June, is too old to run the government a second time around.

Rogan's comments suggest the comedian's feelings towards Trump have softened. In July, the podcaster said he was not a Trump supporter in "any way, shape or form," and refused to have the business mogul on his show. However, Rogan was spotted shaking hands with Trump at a UFC bout a few weeks later.

Rogan seemed to reconsider the ban in August, telling The Joe Rogan Experience listeners: "It would be interesting to hear his perspective on a lot of things.

"I would like to know, 'What is it like when you actually get into office?' I would like to know things like, 'What is it like versus perception?'" he added.

"Like, 'What's the machine like?' 'What is the deep state really like?' Because it's very clear that it's not as simple as elected representatives that are doing the will of the people."

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Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more

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