Joe Rogan calls himself out as "hypocrite" live on JRE podcast: "The reality is they're prisons"

Veteran UFC color commentator Joe Rogan appears to have engaged in some self-criticism on his world-renowned JRE (Joe Rogan Experience) podcast. The martial arts practitioner recalled a choice he made, which he believes was hypocritical on his part.

On episode 2192 of the JRE podcast earlier this month (Aug. 2024), Rogan hosted fellow American comedian Raanan Hershberg. Among other topics, Hershberg notably referenced Rogan's joke about the tiger in the zoo and keeping a monster in a box.

Rogan recalled that he does somewhat remember that joke. It's believed that the UFC commentator's joke was based on the 2007 attack carried out by the female Siberian tigress Tatiana at the San Francisco Zoo. The big cat had perpetrated an attack in the zoo in 2006 as well.

On Dec. 25, 2007, after the zoo's closing time, Tatiana scaled its enclosure's fence and attacked a group of three youths after reportedly being provoked. A 17-year-old named Carlos Eduardo Sousa Jr. was killed, while brothers Amritpal 'Paul' Dhaliwal (19) and Kulbir Dhaliwal (23) survived with injuries. Reports indicated that the police arrived at the scene and killed Tatiana during the rescue efforts.

On the JRE podcast, Raanan Hershberg reiterated Joe Rogan's stance that if one has a monster in the city, a tiger at the zoo, a roof over the enclosure is a must to keep the monster in the box. Additionally, Hershberg implied that the roof is usually absent because the zoo wants the animals to feel free.

Rogan disagreed and stated:

"F**k that. It's not free. They shouldn't be there. I don't agree with zoos at all."

When asked if he doesn't like zoos, Rogan said:

"No, I used to. I'm a hypocrite because I took my kids to them because I wanted my kids to be able to see these animals. 'Cause it's kind of cool to see a two-year-old staring at a hippo, 'Whoa!' But the reality is they're prisons. They're prisons for animals that didn't do anything wrong."

On Hershberg's assertion that a wild animal's life is even tougher in the wild, Rogan said:

"It's natural. They're not all getting killed. You know, they're doing some killing, too, which is also unnatural that you just feed these things that live to kill." [46:08]

Moreover, Rogan acknowledged that zoos help preserve and possibly reintroduce endangered species to nature. He signaled that the powers that be should spend more on developing bigger habitats for wild animals.

The MMA personality further opined that the African safari model, wherein tourists go on forest safaris to observe wild animals in their natural environment is better than the prison-like zoos.

Watch Rogan discuss the topic below (44:32-56:40):

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Joe Rogan previously expressed similar views on zoos

Over the years, the ethical concerns about zoos have led to extensive debate and discussion in certain sections of the socio-political realm. In episode 1297 of the JRE podcast a few years ago, Joe Rogan hosted animal trainer Phil Demers. Rogan explained that taking one's children to the zoo to see wild animals and watching their awestruck reactions is one of the rare pros of the zoo model.

The former Taekwondo competitor highlighted that another advantage of zoos is that they serve to protect, breed, and sometimes reintroduce endangered species. However, he believes zoos don't serve much of a purpose apart from that and are akin to prisons for wild animals. The longtime appreciator of wild animals' magnificence stated:

"It's an animal prison. It's weird."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (0:00-0:39):