In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience featuring actor Ethan Hawke, Joe Rogan opened up about the damaging effects of online criticism. He shared a story about a comedian friend who fell victim to the harsh world of Reddit commentary.
During their wide-ranging conversation, Rogan recounted how his friend made a critical error by reading negative comments about his performance on Reddit. “I had the exact same conversation last night with a famous comedian friend of mine,” Rogan revealed. “He went down a Reddit rabbit hole the other night.”
The comedian had apparently stumbled upon a thread discussing his work and couldn’t help but dive deep into the comments section. “He goes, ‘I f**ked up and I went down this rabbit hole,'” Rogan explained. The experience left his friend devastated, believing that internet strangers universally hated him.
Rogan’s advice to his friend was direct and unequivocal: “Don’t do it. Don’t do it. No good comes from it.” He emphasized that the negative voices online don’t represent reality. “They hate themselves. They hate everything,” he told his friend, adding a crucial perspective:
“Michael Jordan’s not leaving Reddit comments. These aren’t winners. These are f**king people that are not doing what they want to be doing.”
While Rogan didn’t reveal the identity of the comedian who spiraled down a Reddit rabbit hole, the description closely mirrors recent comments made publicly by Bert Kreischer. Allegedly, Kreischer has openly admitted that online criticism has taken a serious toll on him.
In that conversation, Kreischer revealed just how deeply the negativity cut into his mental health. “You’d be shocked how many people hate me,” he told Marcus King on Two Bears, One Cave. “For a period of time, that really affected me.”
Hawke, who has experienced similar online criticism throughout his acting career, strongly agreed with Rogan’s assessment. He shared his own struggles with reading negative reviews and comments, describing how actors can lose “unbelievable, ridiculous amount of hours” obsessing over hateful commentary.
