Global Courant
Mark Cuban criticized Joe Rogan Sunday for making what he believed to be damaging statements against the medical and pharmaceutical industries while supporting anti-vaccine rhetoric from the likes of presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from 2024.
“Way of speaking generally, Joe,” Cuban, owner of Cost Plus Drugs, wrote in a tweet, citing Rogan’s own post stating that the medical industry is made up of “heartless monsters.”
“I’m not saying there isn’t a lot of made-up stuff about pharma,” Cuban continued, “but ignoring that the same industry has saved who knows how many lives is nonsense and you know it. It is also disrespectful to all doctors, researchers and medical professionals who devote their lives to saving lives.”
The social media turmoil stemmed from Rogan’s recent podcast with Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaxxer, highlighting misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. That interview led to vaccine researcher Peter Hotez calling it out as “bullshit”, which Rogan then led to challenging Hotez to discuss the topic on his podcast with no time limit in exchange for $100,000 donated to a charity of his choice. In his escalating attacks, the podcast host denounced the medical industry as “heartless monsters … (who) look to humans as an opportunity to generate insane wealth, regardless of the tragic consequences.”
In addition to that tweet, Cuban addressed Rogan’s incessant attacks on Hotez, which only intensified when Twitter owner Elon Musk got involved by proverb Hotez was “afraid of public debate because he knows he’s wrong.”
“Trying to bully Dr. Hotez is ridiculous,” Cuban continued. “You have producers preparing you and you get control over the conversation. Kennedy also has a staff ready to prepare him, and he talks about these topics in every speech. You both do this daily (while) Dr. Hotez works every day to find ways to help people.
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Cuban subsequently berated Rogan and Musk for contributing to the deteriorating climate on mainstream social media, despite their claims to be the opposite.
“Joe, you and Elon Musk’s Twitter are the mainstream online media and your platforms have become everything that is supposedly wrong with MSM. You are driven by self-interest, as the MSM has always been accused of,” Cuban wrote. “You both earned that right. You have tried your best to be good at what you do and have earned everything you have achieved. But don’t lie to yourself and all of us and tell us you’re different. You’re not.’
