Israel Adesanya courts controversy with support for Joe Rogan

Kiwi UFC champ Israel Adesanya has spoken out in defence of embattled podcaster and commentator Joe Rogan, saying he was being targeted because of the size of his audience.

Rogan has faced a barrage of criticism recently, for both his platforming of anti-vaccine opinions on his Spotify podcast and after videos resurfaced of him using the n-word.

Adesanya, who has appeared on Rogan's podcast, took the opportunity to defend him at a press conference ahead of his title fight against Robert Whittaker tomorrow, taking the microphone when a reporter asked a question of UFC boss Dana White.

"I'm black, I can take this one. Look, there's a lot of c***s in this game, there's a lot of snakes in this game. I've been in this fight game since 2008 and Joe Rogan is one of the nicest, coolest, humble m*********ers I've had the pleasure of working with," Adesanya said to a chorus of cheers from the crowd.

"F*** the noise man, you know what they're trying to do. You can't control the man and he's got the biggest platform in the world right now so that my n**** Joe Rogan. F*** the noise."

Rogan apologised recently after a video compilation surfaced that showed him using a racial slur in clips of episodes over a 12-year span.

The mea culpa came after Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter India.Arie posted the compilation on Instagram and announced that she was removing her music from Spotify's streaming service because of it.

Israel Adesanya is interviewed by Joe Rogan after defeating Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision in 2019. Photo / Getty Images

Spotify is facing growing discontent from artists over Rogan's podcast, which it reportedly paid more than US$100 million ($150m) to license. Last month, musician Neil Young removed his music over concerns Rogan was magnifying vaccine scepticism.

In a video posted on his Instagram account, Rogan, who hosts a podcast called The Joe Rogan Experience, said his use of the N-word in the compilation Arie posted was the "most regretful and shameful thing that I've ever had to talk about publicly." But he said the clips were "taken out of context".

"It's not my word to use. I am well aware of that now, but for years I used it in that manner," he said during the six-minute video on his Instagram account. "I never used it to be racist because I'm not racist."

'Not qualified'

Some African-Americans argued online that Adesanya should not be speaking on the issue, saying that his status as a Nigerian and New Zealander did not qualify him.

"#IsraelAdesanya is NOT QUALIFIED to speak on this and doesn't speak for ACTUAL Black Americans. Hell, HE can't say the things #JoeRogan did," one woman argued.

"A brother from New Zealand defending Joe Rogan? This is why we got diaspora beef," another wrote.

Others argued that Adesanya had every right to comment.

"Black in America is not different from black anywhere in the world, the word is different but carries the same weight and parallel history," one man said.

- Additional reporting, AP