The screenshot of The Rock’s tweet from 2011 was shared by Donald Trump, Jr. with the caption, “Wow, @TheRock, you can’t just try to quietly delete transphobic attacks without giving a groveling apology and expect to ever work in Hollywood again. Do @UnderArmour, @Ford, @Apple, @Netflix and the rest of his sponsors/partners agree with this hateful rhetoric?”
The tweet in question is from 2011, and shows the wrestler-turned-actor telling a Twitter user “It’s not our fault you’re turning tranny tricks to put yourself thru nursing school.”
That prompted Caitlyn Jenner, the retired Olympic gold medalist and politically controversial member of the transgender community, to speak out. “Hmmmm... the double standard is real. @TheRock I love you but cmon dude...let's be real. Cancel culture has got to go. Use your platform. @DonaldJTrumpJr thanks for highlighting,” Jenner tweeted.
Johnson is one of several artists who has inserted himself in the ongoing Joe Rogan scandal, which began with folk rockstar Neil Young pulling his music from Spotify in response to a complaint leveled against Rogan by medical professionals, who have accused him of hosting individuals responsible for the spread of covid misinformation.
Joni Mitchell followed Young and also pulled her music from the platform. Other prominent individuals who have left Spotify include Nils Lofgren, India.Arie, Crosby Stills & Nash, writer Roxane Gay, research professor Brene Brown, and Mary Trump.
The controversy surrounding Rogan’s leniency towards covid misinformation has snowballed since then. The podcaster is being lambasted for his use of the n-word, as well as other racial slurs on his show. After learning of Rogan’s use of the word, Johnson has done a complete u-turn in his support of the podcaster.
“I was not aware of his n-word use prior to my comments, but now I’ve become educated to his complete narrative,” Johnson wrote in a tweet on Saturday. “Learning moment for me.”
The musical artist India.Arie, who has also removed her music from Spotify, posted a video compilation of Joe Rogan saying the n-word several times from different episodes of his podcast over a timespan of 12 years.
In response, Rogan argues the clips were taken out of context while lamenting his shame and regret in an apology video he posted to Instagram. But a video posted by the Twitter account @PatriotTakes shows Rogan, who is a white man, debating the seriousness of the slur with another white male comedian, while also discussing the level of offense of other racial slurs can generate. He then urges his white male guest to say the n-word and bursts out laughing when he does.
"So we know how social media can be. Things can be doctored, people are taken out of context, it's happened to me many times," said artist India.Arie after sharing the compilation of Rogan to Instagram on Friday. "However, I want to be clear in no uncertain terms where I stand on this. ... He shouldn't be uttering the word. Don't even say it under any context."
Caitlyn Jenner, who ran as a Republican candidate in a failed bid for California governor, can’t seem to pick a side. In response to artists leaving Spotify in protest of Rogan, she wrote, “Bye bye Leftover hippies from the 60’s boycotting @joerogan on Spotify. Nobody will miss you. Thank you @Spotify for standing up for Rogan,” she tweeted on Friday, even though she has previously labeled Rogan as transphobic in response to a joke he made about her transitioning in his 2016 Netflix special.