Why is Aaron Rodgers-endorsed Joe Rogan podcast facing backlash? Breaking down RFK Jr. episode
Aaron Rodgers has come under fire once again. This time, the New York Jets star is facing backlash for endorsing a podcast episode from controversial host Joe Rogan. Rogan is a controversial figure himself, but a recent episode might have been made with an even more controversial person: Robert Kennedy Jr.
RFK Jr., as he is known, is running for president in 2024, trying to unseat incumbent Joe Biden in the Democratic Party. Unlike many other Democrats, RFK is staunchly anti-vaccine, which seems to be a big reason he's drawn support from Rodgers.
This ties back to when the then-Green Bay Packers star faced tremendous backlash for being dishonest about his COVID-19 vaccine status. When asked, he simply responded that he was immunized, though that was later revealed to be untrue.
Maybe I should debate vaccine policy publicly with Joe Rogan or RFK, Jr. I know nearly as little as they do, after all.
It could be the two of us, both pretending very loudly that we know things about mRNA that we don’t really know.
He then doubled down on his stance and refused to get the vaccine at all. He cited that he was very particular about what goes into his body and that he was allergic to some of the ingredients in the shot.
Kennedy has taken his anti-vaccine stance to the next level and disavowed the majority of vaccines, making him the only major presidential candidate to publicly do so at the time.
Aaron Rodgers-endorsed candidate draws ire on Joe Rogan podcast
With Robert Kennedy on the Joe Rogan Experience, the host and presidential candidate went back and forth, with the former stating his vaccine beliefs for all to hear. This drew the ire of many, especially Dr. Peter Hotez.
This sparked an online debate, with Rogan and Kennedy wanting to have Hotex on the show to debate, something the doctor declined to do.
.@PeterHotez responds to being asked to debate anti-vaxxer RFK Jr.
"Anti-vaccine disinformation...is now a lethal force in the United States. I offered to go on Joe Rogan but not to turn it into the Jerry Springer show with having RFK Jr. on." https://t.co/9ydNLXnxeS
Naturally, all of this has sparked a ton of backlash. Aaron Rodgers, even though he's not technically involved in all of this, has drawn the ire of the NFL world and more in the process.
“Why don’t people who are actually smart want to argue with people who aren’t so even dumber people can pick who’s smarter?”
Yeah, utterly beguiling mystery there. twitter.com/strauss_matt/s…
Rodgers waded into the political debate over the vaccine when he lied about having it and then doubled down on his anti-vaccine stance. He's a friend of Rogan's and an endorser of Kennedy, so he's being grouped in with the outrage.
You might as well be debating a cat. twitter.com/MLiamMcCollum/…
With even Elon Musk chiming in on the debate online, there's plenty of anger to go around. Many Twitter personalities are frustrated that this continues to be an issue and are disappointed that Rodgers, Kennedy and others with anti-vaccine views are openly spreading their takes.
This, from the owner of this site, is just despicable. @PeterHotez created a patent-free vaccine for sars cov-2 (hence the Nobel nod). He has donated countless hours of his life to educating the world about vaccines and so much more. He deserves so much better than this nonsense. https://t.co/wigEsJ3s8A
Aaron Rodgers has never shied away from stating his opinions on things. In his illustrious NFL career, fans have always known how he feels on certain topics. That includes vaccines, which certainly isn't pleasing a lot of people.