Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Nov 11, 2025

Jon Stewart weighs into Spotify controversy, says artists pulling music over Joe Rogan are making a 'mistake'

Jon Stewart weighs into Spotify controversy, says artists pulling music over Joe Rogan are making a 'mistake'

Musicians Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and more have requested the streaming platform remove their music

Jon Stewart believes the musicians boycotting Spotify over Joe Rogan are overreacting.

The former "Daily Show" host shared his hot take on musicians Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and more who have requested their music be removed from the streaming platform on a recent episode of his podcast "The Problem with Jon Stewart."

"First of all, I love Neil Young and I love Neil Young's music but the idea that it was worth $4 billion in value to Spotify caught me off guard," Stewart said. "When he pulled his music off of Spotify and Spotify went that I was like, hm, that didn't seem right."

Stewart said he doesn't think Joe Rogan is an "ideologue in any way."

A handful of musicians have requested their music be removed from Spotify because of their opposition to the coronavirus-related content published via Joe Rogan's podcast, which is exclusive to the streamer.


His advice to artists is: "Don't leave, don't abandon, don't censor, engage."

"We all exist in this world and on this planet. There's no question that there is egregious misinformation that's purposeful and hateful…and that being moderated is a credit to the platforms that run them," Stewart said. "But this overreaction to Rogan, I think, is a mistake."

He went on to call the musicians' reactions to Rogan's comments about the coronavirus "overblown."

"I think there are dishonest bad actors in the world and identifying those is so much more important to me," he added.

Spotify agreed to remove Neil Young's music from the platform.


David Crosby and Stephen Stills are the latest artists who have joined their Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmates and asked that the platform remove their music.

"We support Neil [Young] and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify's Joe Rogan podcast," Crosby, 80; Stills, 77; and Graham Nash, 80, said in a joint statement shared on Twitter on Wednesday.

Nash had already removed his music from Spotify.

Joni Mitchell attends The 2020 NAMM Show – 35th Annual NAMM TEC Awards on January 18, 2020 in Anaheim, California. 


"While we always value alternative points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences," the rockers continued. "Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don't want our music – or the music we made together – to be on the same platform."

Young was the first artist to pull his content from the streamer over the information in Rogan's podcast.

Other artists to have pulled their music from Spotify in protest of Rogan's content include Joni Mitchell, India.Arie and Nils Lofgren.

Rogan broke his silence on the controversy on Sunday in a nearly 10-minute-long video. He spoke about the challenges of preparing for his shows that are unscripted and free-flowing. He defended his interviews with Dr. Peter McCullough, a cardiologist, and Dr. Robert Malone, an infectious disease specialist, that resulted in some criticism and apparently led to Young's decision to call on his songs being removed from the platform.

He challenged the word "misinformation" given that so much is still being learned about COVID-19. He said Spotify will begin to put a disclaimer at the beginning of these sorts of interviews, and he will also consider following them up with an expert with a different opinion.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Unveils Middle East Reset: Syria Re-engaged, Saudi Ties Amplified
Saudi Arabia to Build Future Cities Designed with Tourists in Mind, Says Tourism Minister
Saudi Arabia Advances Regulated Stablecoin Plans with Global Crypto Exchange Support
Saudi Arabia Maintains Palestinian State Condition Ahead of Possible Israel Ties
Chinese Steel Exports Surge 41% to Saudi Arabia as Mills Pivot Amid Global Trade Curbs
Saudi Arabia’s Biban Forum 2025 Secures Over US$10 Billion in Deals Amid Global SME Drive
Saudi Arabia Sets Pre-Conditions for Israel Normalisation Ahead of Trump Visit
MrBeast’s ‘Beast Land’ Arrives in Riyadh as Part of Riyadh Season 2025
Cristiano Ronaldo Asserts Saudi Pro League Outperforms Ligue 1 Amid Scoring Feats
AI Researchers Claim Human-Level General Intelligence Is Already Here
Saudi Arabia Pauses Major Stretch of ‘The Line’ Megacity Amid Budget Re-Prioritisation
Saudi Arabia Launches Instant e-Visa Platform for Over 60 Countries
Dick Cheney, Former U.S. Vice President, Dies at 84
Saudi Crown Prince to Visit Trump at White House on November Eighteenth
Trump Predicts Saudi Arabia Will Normalise with Israel Ahead of 18 November Riyadh Visit
Entrepreneurial Momentum in Saudi Arabia Shines at Riyadh Forward 2025 Summit
Saudi Arabia to Host First-Ever International WrestleMania in 2027
Saudi Arabia to Host New ATP Masters Tournament from 2028
Trump Doubts Saudi Demand for Palestinian State Before Israel Normalisation
Viral ‘Sky Stadium’ for Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup Debunked as AI-Generated
Deal Between Saudi Arabia and Israel ‘Virtually Impossible’ This Year, Kingdom Insider Says
Saudi Crown Prince to Visit Washington While Israel Recognition Remains Off-Table
Saudi Arabia Poised to Channel Billions into Syria’s Reconstruction as U.S. Sanctions Linger
Smotrich’s ‘Camels’ Remark Tests Saudi–Israel Normalisation Efforts
Saudi Arabia and Qatar Gain Structural Edge in Asian World Cup Qualification
Israeli Energy Minister Delays $35 Billion Gas Export Agreement with Egypt
Fincantieri and Saudi Arabia Agree to Build Advanced Maritime Ecosystem in Kingdom
Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN Accelerates AI Ambitions Through Major Partnerships and Infrastructure Push
IOC and Saudi Arabia End Ambitious 12-Year Esports Games Partnership
CSL Seqirus Signs Saudi Arabia Pact to Provide Cell-Based Flu Vaccines and Build Local Production
Qualcomm and Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN Team Up to Deploy 200 MW AI Infrastructure
Saudi Arabia’s Economy Expands Five Percent in Third Quarter Amid Oil Output Surge
China’s Vice President Han Zheng Meets Saudi Crown Prince as Trade Concerns Loom
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
×