Is Joe Rogan’s Planet Of The Apes Joke Worse?

Benny A. King

Joe Rogan recently found himself in hot water when a compilation of him uttering racial slurs surfaced online. Rogan can be seen in the clip saying the N word over and over again. In Rogan’s defense it’s allegedly different in context. According to the man himself many of the cases featured in viral video were him quoting Black comedian Richard Pryor, Tarantino movies or others.

 

But some allege that the context isn’t enough to excuse Rogan – in particular for the Planet of The Apes comment.

What was Joe Rogan’s ‘Planet of the Apes’ comment about?

Rogan explains why he made the infamous “Planet of the Apes” comparison in his last statement. Rogan is quoted saying:

“There’s a clip from 11 years ago, I was telling a story on the podcast about how me and my friend Tommy and his girlfriend, we got really high, we’re in Philadelphia, and we went to go see Planet of the Apes. And we didn’t know where we’re going. We just got dropped off by a cab, and we got dropped off in this all black neighborhood. And I was trying to make the story entertaining. And I said, we got out. And it was like we were in Africa. Like we were in Planet of the Apes. I did not nor would I ever say that black people are apes, but it sure fucking sounded like that. And I immediately afterwards said, that’s a racist thing to say. Planet of the Apes wasn’t even in Africa. I was just saying, there’s a lot of black people there. But then I went on to talk about what a positive experience it was and how much fun it was to go to see this movie in a black neighborhood. It wasn’t a racist story, but it sounded terrible. ”

Rogan admitted that he had used the N word and the movie comparison in an attempt to retell the story of the incident in a more compelling fashion – to up the entertainment value. He also says he had a wonderful experience in the neighborhood.