Joe Rogan has opened up about his experience getting publicly chastised by Prince Harry in 2021 over his comments about vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic, in his new Netflix comedy special, Burn the Boats.
The 57-year-old comedian and podcast host said that he found out Harry was "talking s***" about him one morning while he was in his underwear and vulnerable.
"I got canceled so often during COVID that sometimes I would find out by accident. This is a true story. One time, I just woke up. I'm in my underwear. I plop down in front of the TV, I turn it on, and Prince Harry's talking s*** about me. I'm, like, I just woke up. I'm vulnerable. I'm in my underwear, and there is a prince on TV," Rogan said.
"Do you know how f****** weird it is when a prince knows your name? He's, like, 'Joe Rogan's giving out dangerous vaccine misinformation.' And my first thought was, 'F***! Did I?' I might have...."
Newsweek approached representatives of Prince Harry via email for comment.
Harry referenced Rogan's stance on vaccines during an appearance on The Armchair Expert podcast in May 2021. At the time, the prince and the comedian were both signed to podcasting contracts by the Spotify streaming platform.
A month earlier, Rogan faced backlash after suggesting publicly that he wouldn't recommend "healthy" young people get the COVID-19 vaccine.
While discussing misinformation, Harry said that Rogan should "stay out of it" and added: "You have a platform, with a platform comes responsibility."
Rogan returned to the subject of Harry in the comedy special, which was released on August 4:
"I'm not even mad at Harry. If I was him, I would have said the same s***. I get it. If I met that dude, I'd love to have a drink with him... I think, if I met that dude, I'd be, like, 'I'm not mad at you; in fact, I think if I lived your life, I would be you, and I think, if you lived my life, you would be me. I think we're all one. Let's have a drink, relax, have a couple of cocktails, have a good time.' Like most of us, right?"
Rogan then added the punchline, saying: "And the goal would be get him about three drinks deep and then go, 'Hey, man, you ever do mushrooms?'"
Rogan went on to ask: "Could you imagine doing mushrooms with Prince Harry? You imagine if you could trick that guy into doing mushrooms with you." He then said that, when the hypothetical trip hit the prince, he would "hover over him and say: 'Are you sure vaccines are safe?" B****, you're not a scientist.'"
In 2023, Harry did admit to taking magic mushrooms in a chapter of his memoir, Spare.
The prince recounted how, at a Hollywood party in 2016, he had been offered chocolates laced with mushrooms and experienced a mind-altering trip in which a toilet took on lifelike qualities.
"The bowl was its gaping maw, the hinges of the seat were its piercing silver eyes," Harry wrote. "It said: 'Aaah.' I finished, flushed, closed its mouth."
Harry described the experience as "delightful," though he said that his friend found it to be "hell."
The inclusion of his experiences with drugs in his memoir has earned Harry backlash from a number of sources including the Heritage Foundation. It is actively seeking the publication of his visa documentation from the Department of Justice through the legal system, to ascertain whether he disclosed his history with recreational narcotics use on his paperwork.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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