Speaking to guest and fellow comedian Tom Segura during the episode, which aired last Thursday (July 14), Rogan appeared to joke about “shooting the homeless” in Los Angeles in reference to California’s escalating homelessness crisis. Los Angeles is estimated to have more than 66,000 homeless people by May 2022. In her resignation from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (Lahsa), former executive director Heidi Marsten said the crisis was “a monster of our own making.” . While smoking cigars, Rogan and Segura touched on the homeless problem in Los Angeles in an interaction that has been described as “disgusting” and “disgusting” by fans online. In the clip of their exchange, which is going viral on Twitter, Rogan began by talking about how homeless people’s belongings are scattered across Los Angeles. Segura responded: “When you see things like this on the streets, at least in Los Angeles or California, that’s protected property. As per the law. This is the person’s property by law.” “Oh, is a homeless person’s property protected?” Rogan shot back, before Segura replied, “Absolutely. If you tried to move it or take it_” “You will be arrested. Hilarious,” Rogan said, finishing Segura’s sentence, before adding, “But you wouldn’t get arrested if you shot somebody. Maybe you should just go shoot the homeless.” “I like your ideas,” Segura responded to Rogan’s remark. (Twitter) Twitter users decried Rogan’s remarks, which many believe could incite crimes against the homeless. One person wrote: “Joe Rogan’s one trick to solve the homeless problem: Shoot them. Way to condone crimes against humanity.” Another said: “After hearing Joe Rogan and Tom Segura joke about shooting homeless people, I hope with every fiber of my being that those words come back to bite them in the worst way.” One social media user prefaced his comments by saying they “don’t think much of Joe Rogan, I admit” but his comments about the homeless were “disgusting”. “You won’t get arrested if you shoot someone! So go shoot the homeless,” they paraphrased Rogan’s comments, adding, “He advocates killing people who have nothing and are at their lowest point,” the fan’s tweet continued. Los Angeles homeless advocates also condemned Rogan’s remarks. Joe Rogan’s podcast on Spotify has been criticized for spreading misinformation, especially about the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccines ((L-R) Getty, iStock) In a statement to Variety, unhoused advocate and We The Unhoused podcast creator Theo Henderson called Rogan’s comments “disgusting.” He added: “It is infuriating because not only is there a lack of contact, but the reality is that homeless people are being targeted by homeless people. To support trying to shoot strays or just giving these dog whistles to people who don’t see strays as human beings — I can’t believe you’re going to support that.” The Independent has contacted a representative for Rogan for comment.
