Joe Rogan left furious as guest calls him out over vaccine conspiracy theory live on air
It remains the most popular podcast on Spotify, but with The Joe Rogan Experience being described as a "boundary-free arena," there are worries about what's being pumped across the internet and into people's ears.
In particular, the aftermath of Louis Theroux's Inside the Manosphere has shown how easily influenced the young male audience can be, with The Joe Rogan Experience being especially popular among them.
Having hosted everyone from Elon Musk to Kanye West, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to President Donald Trump, Joe Rogan has been dubbed an unlikely political commentator, although this hasn't come without controversy.
As well as coming under fire for not featuring Kamala Harris in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, Rogan has been called out amid claims he's spreading misinformation.
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Accused of spreading the theory that Jeffrey Epstein was working for Israel, Rogan's podcast has also perpetuated the idea that Charles Manson was a CIA asset, frequently discussed aliens and supposed government cover-ups, and climate change denial.
There was further controversy when Spotify refused to carry over 42 episodes when it acquired the exclusive rights, as well as singer India Arie sharing a compilation of Rogan saying the n-word numerous times.
One of his most divisive topics includes mentions of COVID-19 and vaccines, with 270 doctors, scientists, and health professionals signing an open letter that accused the podcast of spreading misinformation back in January 2022. This came after Rogan had previously been slammed for allowing guest Robert W. Malone to compare the USA's reaction to the pandemic to the rise of the Nazi party in Germany, claiming that "mass formation psychosis" had developed.
In a resurfaced clip, fans are reliving the moment when Bryan Callen clashed with Rogan over vaccines.
After Rogan seemingly linked autism to California's strict vaccine mandate and mentioned how Florida has stopped demanding people be jabbed, Callen referred to it as 'dangerous'. When Rogan pressed his guest on the comment, Callen then called it 'bullsh*t' when Rogan suggested we don't need tetanus jabs.
Callen added: "Let me ask you a question, Mr. Joe Rogan, Mr. Scientist..."
He was then interrupted by Rogan, who shot back saying: "Don't do that, don't call me Mr. Scientist, I'll start mocking you, and it's so much easier to mock you.”
— That Dude's Mother 🇨🇦🇨🇦 (@ThatDudesMother) March 16, 2026
Rogan reiterated that it's not that he doesn't believe in vaccines, but that he doesn't thing MMA vaccine (we assume he meant to say MMR) should be given to babies because he says it is "absolutely connected to a host of serious, debilitating f**king problems that kids have gotten from them."
As Callen continued to defend vaccines, Rogan vented: "Bryan, this is a long conversation that we're not going to have on this podcast because I'm going to get angry. I've researched this for years, let's just not."
When reminded that he's not a scientist, an annoyed Rogan concluded: "I don't have to be a scientist to know this, Bryan, shut the f**k up. I don't have to be a scientist to read research."
While Rogan was adamant that he's not anti-vax, the situation quickly escalated.
Replying to the clip, one person said: "Joe was cutting him off because he didn’t want to hear facts, he wanted to keep spreading his misinformation. I’m no fan of Bryan but this is so obvious."
Another added: "Joe yelling all his points but the second a response is coming 'I’m not gonna do this' lol. Such an intellectual coward now
A third wrote: Joe Rogan arguing vaccines when his kids are vaxxed is hilariously hypocritical 😂 what dumb f**king idiot."