Joe Rogan tweets six-word reaction to highly controversial MSNBC title later altered to avoid backlash
The saga between Joe Rogan and MSNBC continues. In a recent tweet, the popular podcaster expressed his outrage over the original title of an MSNBC article covering the murder of Laken Riley, whose killer is José Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela with suspected ties to the Tren de Aragua gang.
While covering Ibarra's trial, MSNBC penned an article with a title that framed him—the perpetrator—as a victim. The original title read, "Laken Riley's killer never stood a chance," as if implying that his inability to mount a compelling legal defense for homicide was worthy of lamenting.
Before long, MSNBC drew overwhelming backlash for the title, which led to it being changed to "The guilt of Laken Riley's killer was never in doubt". However, the damage to MSNBC's reputation had already been done, with Rogan being one of the most high-profile critics of the article's title, writing the following on X:
"What the f**k is this sh*t"
The situation is only likely to worsen MSNBC's current predicament. Comcast recently put the news channel and website up for sale, with billionaire businessman Elon Musk expressing an interest in acquiring the American news-based television channel.
Additionally, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has also shared his thoughts on the murder of Laken Riley, mentioning her during his Republican nomination speech.
Joe Rogan jokingly offered to take Rachel Maddow's MSNBC job
In another post on X, Joe Rogan replied to Elon Musk's teased interest in acquiring MSNBC. The UFC commentator offered to assume Rachel Maddow's role as a news show host on MSNBC, even mocking her by promising to parrot the same talking points he accused her of lying about.
Rogan wrote:
"If you buy MSNBC I would like Rachel Maddow's job. I will wear the same outfit and glasses, and I will tell the same lies."
Now that MSNBC courted more controversy than it anticipated with a poor title, it may very well galvanize Rogan and Musk to do more than just joke about taking over MSNBC.