Joe Rogan ripped into billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Wednesday and accused him and others who profited during the COVID-19 pandemic of causing widespread harm.
In an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Rogan took issue with Gates’ promotion of vaccines and his public health messaging during the pandemic. Rogan criticized Gates for his early endorsements of COVID-19 vaccines, which he said were promoted before their effects were fully understood.
“Bill Gates, who’s on television telling everybody, get the vaccine. You won’t get COVID. And then afterward, that didn’t work after he had unloaded all of his stock,” Rogan said.
The podcast host doubled down on the consequences of decisions made by the tech mogul and other influential figures during the pandemic.
“It turns out COVID wasn’t as bad as we thought it was. Well, you guys are really responsible for a bunch of people taking a medication that was unproven,” Rogan said.
Rogan further lambasted Gates and others for their roles in what he described as a cascade of societal disruptions.
“You’re responsible for all the side effects. You’re responsible for all these, and you’re responsible for fearmongering, lying, closing down businesses, [out] there ruining economies, changing the political structure of the country,” Rogan said.
Gates criticized U.S. leaders in 2020 and accused them of prioritizing economic recovery over saving lives during the coronavirus pandemic. In a TED Connects interview, Gates urged politicians to focus on controlling the virus, warning against ignoring the human toll in favor of reopening businesses.
Later that year, Gates said that he is “very confident” in the safety and efficacy of an FDA-approved vaccine. His remarks came just before Pfizer and BioNTech sought emergency use authorization for their vaccine candidates.
