World-renowned movie star Samuel L. Jackson isn’t buying Joe Rogan’s explanation regarding his past use of a racial slur.
Rogan has been under fire in recent weeks after videos of him using language considered to be racially insensitive went viral, including a video compilation of him using the ‘N-word’. Calls for Rogan to be canceled and removed from streaming platform Spotify skyrocketed after the video’s release.
Rogan was absent from the UFC 271 pay-per-view due to undisclosed reasons. Initially, it was presumed that he was removed from the broadcast team in light of recent events.
Jackson, like Rogan, is never afraid to speak his mind on world issues. During a recent interview with The Sunday Times, Jackson explained why he believes Rogan’s excuse that the clips were taken out of context is invalid.
“He is saying nobody understood the context when he said it,” Jackson told the Times, which describes him as rolling his eyes over Rogan. “But he shouldn’t have said it. It’s not the context, dude — it’s that he was comfortable doing it. Say that you’re sorry because you want to keep your money, but you were having fun and you say you did it because it was entertaining.”
Jackson went on to explain why Rogan’s use of the ‘N-word’ is different than his filmmaking colleague and award-winning director Quentin Tarantino.
“Every time someone wants an example of overuse of the n-word, they go to Quentin — it’s unfair,” he told the U.K. publication. “He’s just telling the story and the characters do talk like that. When Steve McQueen does it, it’s art. He’s an artiste. Quentin’s just a popcorn film-maker.”
Rogan is expected to be on the call for the upcoming UFC 272 card featuring a welterweight grudge match between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington. He has been with the UFC since 1997.
What are your thoughts on Samuel L. Jackson’s take on Joe Rogan’s N-word controversy?
