*Joe Rogan is drawing renewed attention for how he responded to a crude comment aimed at former First Lady Michelle Obama during Donald Trump’s birthday fight event at the White House.
The moment came up during Rogan’s podcast conversation with comedian Ali Siddiq, who questioned why Rogan framed the remark as an effective attention grab, even as he said he did not personally support it, The Daily Beast reports.
At the event, UFC fighter Josh Hokit took the microphone from Rogan and shouted, “Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?” Siddiq challenged Rogan on the moment while the two discussed what it means to improve the country.
“How did that help?” Siddiq asked.
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Rogan said the comment did not reflect his own style or beliefs.
“Not my thing,” Rogan said. “I don’t like it.”
Still, he added, “But I get it, and it’s smart.”
Siddiq pushed back, saying the remark was bound to offend many people.
“It’s really divisive because you know that a large portion of the country is going to take this, is going to have a problem with this,” Siddiq said. “You know, clearly she’s not a man.”
He also questioned why Barack Obama remains such a frequent target of attacks long after his presidency ended.
“It makes no sense to me… I’ve never seen this many people say so many damaging things about a past president,” Siddiq said. “It’s like he’s still on the forefront. And it’s not like we have a president that’s doing the greatest job for this country, you know, which is a weird thing to me.”
When Siddiq asked if people sincerely believe the conspiracy theory about Michelle Obama, Rogan compared it to other fringe views.
“There’s some crazy people that believe the world is flat,” Rogan said. “There’s a lot of dumb beliefs. There’s probably people that do believe Michelle Obama is a man.”
Rogan then argued that Hokit was using a performance-style persona to get noticed.
“What that guy does, he’s like a pro wrestler. Like, he’s got a character called The Incredible Hoke,” Rogan said.
“It’s very corny in a lot of ways. Sometimes it’s, you know, cringy. But the point is, he gets a lot of attention because of all this. That’s what he’s doing. So what he’s trying to do is maximize the amount of attention that he can get for a very short window of career. This is not how he really feels, how he really thinks.”
Rogan later acknowledged that the strategy was meant to provoke.
“It is very divisive, don’t get me wrong, but that’s by design,” he said. “I don’t agree with it. I don’t—I wouldn’t do it.”
The exchange left Siddiq questioning whether the pursuit of attention justifies amplifying a false and demeaning attack on a former first lady.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Joshua Hokit Doubles Down on Michelle Obama Comment: ‘I Thought I Was Giving Her a Compliment’
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