Popular podcast host Joe Rogan responded to Rumble’s $100 million offer to join the platform.
A reporter asked Rogan if he had plans to leave Spotify.
Rogan responded, “No, Spotify has hung in with me, inexplicably, let’s see what happens.”
Rumble’s CEO Chris Pavlovski made the offer earlier this week, saying, “We stand with you, your guests, and your legion of fans in desire for real conversation. So we’d like to offer you 100 million reasons to make the world a better place.”
He added, “How about you bring all your shows to Rumble, both old and new, with no censorship, for 100 million bucks over four years?”
In a memo to employees on Sunday, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, said he “strongly” condemns comments Rogan has made.
Still, he explained, “I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer. We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope. Looking at the issue more broadly, it’s critical thinking and open debate that powers real and necessary progress.”
During the Interactive Advertising Bureau annual conference in New York Wednesday, Spotify’s Chief Content Officer, Dawn Ostroff, reflected on the company’s experience with the controversy, as IJR reported.
“We do feel that we have a responsibility to support creator expression, but also balance that creator expression with safety for our users and for our advertisers,” Ostroff said.
She recognized “the dilemma of moderation versus censorship” acts as an obstacle for technology companies and urged advertisers to help the company get better.
“We really want to be able to be good partners,” Ostroff said.
An analytics firm told CNN the traffic to the cancellation page for Spotify Premium has spiked recently amid the controversy.
