"That's ridiculous" - Joe Rogan and Woody Harrelson fire back at critics over pushback on controversial JRE guests

Joe Rogan recently hosted Hollywood star Woody Harrelson on the Joe Rogan Experience. Having never met before, Rogan and Harrelson opened the show by admitting that they've been fans of each other for a long time. The UFC commentator has been a fan of Harrelson since he played Willy Boyd in the 1980s hit sit-com Cheers.

This painted a smile on Harrelson's face, who also admitted that he's been a long-time fan of Rogan's work, saying:

"I'm a fan of yours too. I love the things you've done that just flipped everything on its head. You know, the people that you interviewed, you got people genuinely up in arms, you know. Like, you're not afraid. You're a fearless warrior and I appreciate what you do. Allowing voice to people. Other people would be like, 'You're wrong just to interview that person.'"

Joe Rogan replied:

"Yeah, you get a lot of that, for sure. But that's ridiculous. That's ridiculous thinking. I don't even understand that. I don't understand how we got to a place where you're wrong to have a conversation with someone - even if you disagree with them. This idea of platforming people. Like, how the f*ck do you know what they really think?"

Listen to the two talk about it here (8:18):

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Joe Rogan on dealing with his haters on the internet: "You're not supposed to be taking in the opinion of the world"

To understand how Joe Rogan's courage to go against the grain inspired people like Harrelson, it's best to go back to one of his more notable podcasts.

Back in 2022, the MMA icon made a rare guesting in another podcast, the Lex Fridman Podcast. Talking to his friend and fellow martial arts enthusiast, computer scientist Lex Fridman, Rogan was asked how he survived the pandemic with all the hate and criticism that came his way over things he said at the time and even years prior.

Rogan said:

"I kept doing shows. I kept doing stand-up. I ignored everything. I didn't read any of it. 100%. I ignored it all."

He added:

"I don't ever let [my wife] read negative articles to me. I don't want them. I don't care. That's a person's opinion. [If] you take a person's opinion and you write it down, doesn't give it any more relevance...They don't like me, whatever. I don't want to read it. I don't want to absorb it. I don't even know them. Especially if I'm not there. And especially if it's biased and it's not an objective opinion of me...But I shouldn't absorb that. I shouldn't take that in. You're not supposed to be taking in the opinion of the world."