ONE Championship boss Chatri Sityodtong says ‘I stand with Joe Rogan’ after criticism, accusations of racism

Asian martial arts promotion’s CEO believes popular podcast host ‘is a good person with a good heart’ and ‘not a racist’

Chatri plans to go on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ following impending announcement of new US broadcast deal

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ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong speaks at a press conference. Photo: ONE Championship

Published: 8:57pm, 8 Feb 2022Updated: 9:02pm, 8 Feb 2022

ONE Championship CEO and chairman Chatri Sityodtong has joined the chorus of fighters and fans defending Joe Rogan after recent criticism.

The UFC commentator and podcast host has come under fire in the last few weeks. A petition was signed by 270 doctors last month, to put pressure on Spotify to tackle Covid-19 vaccine misinformation on Rogan’s hugely-popular show, The Joe Rogan Experience.

Legendary musician Neil Young then told the platform to remove his songs in protest of Rogan, who pledged to “balance things out” with the guests on his show, and more thoroughly research his topics of discussion.

But a video compilation of Rogan using the N-word on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, multiple times surfaced on social media this month, with Spotify removing the relevant episodes.

The video has drawn castigation, with Rogan apologising but insisting the clip takes his usage of the N-word out of context.

“I love Joe Rogan. I don’t believe he is a racist,” Chatri told the Post. “He’s obviously a phenomenal martial artist, but he is a good, good person with a good heart, and at the end of the day, everyone is human.