Joe Rogan's controversial comments pushed Spotify to set up $100M diversity fund

Joe Rogan hosts one of the world's most popular podcasts, The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), which is exclusively available to stream on Spotify. Given his value, it's not surprising that the company was willing to allocate $100 million toward creating a financial apology when the famous podcaster came under fire for his controversial comments.

Early last year, the streaming giant was criticized over its deal with Rogan after he invited some guests who allegedly spread misinformation regarding the pandemic and the Covid-19 vaccine on the podcast. The backlash got worse after clips surfaced showing him using racial slurs in earlier episodes of Rogan's podcast.

Spotify responded by announcing the 'Creator Equity Fund' last year, dedicated to supporting inclusivity and representation on the platform. However, a Bloomberg report has now revealed that less than 10% of the fund has been used so far.

Reports suggest that while the company planned to spend the whole fund over the next three years, it hasn't had a solid structure for approving spending and has been slow to hire staff. Changing priorities has also hurt the project. Moreover, the report indicates that Spotify's financial priorities remain undetermined, and the 2023 budget is still not final.

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Joe Rogan claims Jorge Masvidal would be "dangerous" for a prime Georges St-Pierre

Joe Rogan recently claimed that Jorge Masvidal and other top-ranked welterweights currently active would have given UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre a real run for his money.

St-Pierre is regarded as one of the greatest welterweights in UFC history. A two-division champion with nine title defenses under his belt, 'Rush' dominated the 170-pound weight class from 2007-2013. Considering his achievements, the 41-year-old Canadian is truly a legend of the sport.

In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience (#1956), Rogan spoke about some of the greatest welterweights of all time and discussed how actively competing welterweights would've been tougher matchups for 'GSP' than the contenders of the previous generation.

The UFC commentator told his guest Luke Combs:

"You look at 'GSP’s victories, he beat some very good guys, but I think the guys Kamaru Usman beat- Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, Tyron Woodley, I think they are better..."

Joe Rogan continued:

"I think if Masvidal was around at that time he would be dangerous for everybody, I think he is on another level. I think everyone is on another level... He is a f***king assassin. Masvidal is a gangster.”

Watch the full episode below: