Transgender fighter Fallon Fox calls for Spotify to cancel Joe Rogan
Fallon Fox has called out Spotify to remove the Joe Rogan Experience podcast from the platform. The transgender fighter accused the show's host Joe Rogan of being transphobic. Fallon Fox appealed to Spotify in a social media post she uploaded to her Twitter and Facebook accounts.
The accusations come after Joe Rogan criticized the transgender community for reprimanding those who talk critically about them in a recent episode of the popular podcast.
'Joe Rogan is being transphobic yet again. He has had more transphobic episodes than you can shake a stick at. Spotify needs to cancel his show already,' Fallon Fox wrote.
While speaking to comedian Jim Breuer on the March 19, 2021 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Joe Rogan questioned the inspiration of people undergoing the gender reassignment procedure. The UFC color commentator went on to criticize the transgender community for demanding compliance with their ideology without questioning it.
“And then people who were marginalized for being... like, generally dumb people, if they transfer over and become another gender, then they get praised... There are a lot of people who are idiots, but then they become trans, and now all of a sudden we think they’re amazing.”
Joe Rogan's remarks on the transgender community have come in the wake of criticism he received after signing the multi-year deal with Spotify in 2020. Spotify employees took objection to some of the podcast's previous episodes that contained transphobic comments and demanded censorship over Rogan's content. Fallon Fox sharing her opinion on Joe Rogan's remarks is not surprising as the pair have been on opposite ends of the controversy surrounding female transgender fighters in the past.
Joe Rogan criticized female transgender fighter Fallon Fox for competing against cisgender athletes
Retired MMA fighter Fallon Fox became the first openly female transgender fighter when she disclosed her gender identity after starting her career with two straight wins in women's MMA.
Following Fox's revelation, Joe Rogan expressed his strong disapproval for allowing female transgender fighters to compete against cisgender female athletes in professional MMA. Rogan received harsh criticism for his remarks but refused to back away from his opinion on the matter. Fallon Fox later wrote a guest editorial for Bloody Elbow to share her opinion on the matter.
Female transgender athletes competing against cisgender females is a complicated issue. A large section of the combat sports community believes that female transgender fighters have a higher bone density, muscle mass, and overall strength, which gives them an unfair advantage over their cisgender counterparts. Some research shows that gender reassignment procedures significantly reduce the advantages. However, instances of male transgender athletes finding success against cis male athletes are significantly lower compared to transgender female athletes across all sports. The issue is ambiguous in nature and clear answers on the matter are out of sight as of now.