Joe Rogan has faced criticism and derision after he entertained a long-standing conspiracy theory regarding the US moon landing.
It’s well-known that Rogan frequently explores conspiracy theories and has often discussed them on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, over the years.
While some of his fans claim Rogan is merely raising significant questions, critics argue that he often promotes misinformation during his discussions.
Recently, Rogan has been mocked on social media for repeatedly suggesting that the 1969 moon landing was staged during an episode earlier this year.
In his 2,349th episode, featuring guest singer Danny Jones, Rogan clearly expressed his doubts about NASA’s and the US government’s official narrative of the moon landings.
Rogan supported the old conspiracy theory that the 1969 moon landings were fabricated and filmed by renowned director Stanley Kubrick, allegedly with support from the Walt Disney Company.
During the episode, Rogan remarked: “It is amazing that [Stanley Kubrick] pulled off one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time, especially at the time, during the exact same time period where the moon landings were filmed.
“The stuff from 2001: A Space Odyssey, is more sophisticated, looks better than the stuff from the moon landing… so the idea that you couldn’t fake it… That guy could fake it.”
He further commented: “I think it was Apollo mission 12 or 13 where they got the footage of the lunar module leaving the moon and going back to the orbiter and it looks so fake.
“It looks so fake, it looks so ridiculous, there are no plumes of fire, how does it have the power, where is the engine?
“It is not the same gravity as Earth but how does that thing shoot off into space, that is nonsense, it looks like it is being pulled by strings. This is 1969, you are on the phone with Richard Nixon from the moon, are you out of your f**king mind, is this supposed to be real?”
Despite Rogan’s doubts and his belief that the landing was staged, Reddit users were quick to criticize and mock him.
One commenter stated: “This level of ignorance is a choice. Rogan is choosing to accept idiotic conspiracy theories because they offer simple explanations for the complex realities of life. It’s easier for him to believe that it was all a big hoax rather than that it was a massive, incredibly expensive, coordinated effort by some 400,000 people.”
Another added: “Neil deGrasse Tyson has literally been on Joe’s show and explained the moon landings. Joe is ignorant.”
A third chimed in: “The moon landing was one of America’s greatest achievements, united our country with pride and established ourselves as the leading world power against Russia.
“[Russia] now has an army of internet trolls making a large percentage of its old rival’s citizens doubt one of its greatest achievements.”
Another harshly remarked: “It’s rather pathetic to deny the 20th century’s greatest engineering achievement, just so you and your zero academic achievements can feel like you are smarter than everyone else.”