Last week, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson showed support for Joe Rogan's statement about artists like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulling their music from Spotify due to the streaming giant's deal with Rogan.
"Great stuff here brother," Johnson wrote. "Perfectly articulated. Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you." He also included a liquor glass emoji.
As the latest controversy around Rogan was swirling, writer Don Winslow tweeted at Johnson to ask whether his seeming endorsement of the podcast host still stood.
Dear @TheRock, You're a hero to many people and using your platform to defend Joe Rogan, a guy that used and laughed about using the N word dozens of times, is a terrible use of your power. Have you actually listened to this man's many racist statements about Black people?
"You're a hero to many people and using your platform to defend Joe Rogan, a guy that used and laughed about using the N word dozens of times, is a terrible use of your power," Winslow wrote. "Have you actually listened to this man's many racist statements about Black people?"
The Rock responded to Winslow by thanking him for reaching out and saying, "I hear you as well as everyone here 100%."
Dear @donwinslow Thank you so much for this I hear you as well as everyone here 100% I was not aware of his N word use prior to my comments, but now I've become educated to his complete narrative. Learning moment for me. Mahalo, brother and have a great & productive weekend. DJ https://t.co/3mBf85wRoe
"I was not aware of his N word use prior to my comments," Johnson continued, "but now I've become educated to his complete narrative. Learning moment for me."
As previously mentioned, Rogan also issued an apology for his usage of the n-word, which he claimed was "taken out of context."
"I know that to most people," he said, "there's no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that now. I haven't said it in years."
