Joe Rogan defends same-sex marriage: ‘I’m a bleeding heart liberal’
Joe Rogan. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Joe Rogan has denied he’s a Republican and insisted he is a “bleeding heart liberal” who backs marriage equality.
The motormouthed presenter fought back against claims he’s a “secret conservative” on a 23 July episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.
Speaking with comedian Andrew Schulz, Rogan said: “It’s not just abortion rights but now they’re going after gay marriage too, which is so strange to me.
“Gay marriage is not silly. It’s marriage — it’s marriage from people that are homosexual and it’s for them. It’s important. They want it. They want to affirm their love and their relationship.
“And the fact that they’re going after that now almost makes me feel like they want us to fight. They wanna divide us in the best way they can.
“And this is the best way for them to keep pulling off all the bulls**t they’re doing behind the scenes is to get us to fight over things like gay marriage or get us to fight over things like abortion or it’s just like, why are you removing freedoms?”
Joe Rogan, an Ultimate Fighting Championship colour commentator. (Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Fears have been raised that the conservative-majority Supreme Court will take aim at same-sex marriage after chucking out Roe v Wade stripping Americans of the decades-long right to an abortion.
Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas warned in his concurring opinion that same-sex relations and marriage equality – two rights reliant on Supreme Court rulings – could be overturned.
Thomas urged the court to “reconsider” two cases: Lawrence v Texas, a 2003 case abolishing sodomy laws nationwide; and Obergefell v Hodges, the 2015 case that granted same-sex couples the right to marry in all 50 states.
These “errors” must be “corrected”, Thomas said.
Rogan added: “It’s so homophobic because you’re saying there’s something wrong with being homosexual by saying that you are opposed to gay marriage. You’re saying you’re opposed to gay people.
“The fact that they’re going after that now, like that’s the kind of **t that keeps me from being a Republican. It’s only one of the kind of — there’s a bunch of s**t that keeps you from being a Republican.”
To Rogan, being a Republican isn’t the same as being right-wing. He stressed that he believes in the Second Amendment and backs the police he is a “bleeding heart liberal” on other issues.
“Like I was on welfare as a kid,” he said adding: “We should help each other. We’re supposed to be one big community.
“I’m a bleeding heart liberal when it comes to a lot of s**.”
The Democratic Party has sought to soothe fears of Obergefell v Hodges being repealed by enshrining marriage equality protections into federal law. The House of Representatives passed the Respect for Marriage Act on 19 July.
But the bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where it’s unclear whether it will draw the 10 Republican votes needed to overcome the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold.
While Rogan has openly backed marriage equality and even defended Elliot Page from people deadnaming him, Rogan doesn’t have the best track record with LGBTQ+ rights. He has misgendered and berated both Caitlyn Jenner and Rachel Levine and linked trans people and the “obsession with gender” to the collapse of civilisation.
