Joe Rogan Netflix Stand-Up Comedy Special Mocks Transgender People, Vaccines

Comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan focused on targets such as COVID vaccines and transgender people during his latest comedy special.

Rogan’s latest, called “Burn the Boats,” debuted live on Netflix on Saturday night and amplified some of the controversial views he has previously discussed on his podcast. Yet he was also self-deprecating about his perceived impact on the culture.

“That could be wrong information,” he joked early on. “Don’t say you heard it from me, because you did known for that stuff.”

Rogan discussed his skepticism about COVID vaccines early in the special.

“COVID was just so strange,” he said. “And we’ve lost a lot of people during COVID, and most of them are still alive. There are a lot of people I don’t hang out with anymore. Before COVID, I would have told you that vaccines are the most important invention in human history. After COVID, I said, ‘I don’t think we went to the moon. I think Michelle Obama has a dick. I think Pizzagate is real. I think there are direct energy weapons in Antarctica.” I’m just kidding: I don’t think Michelle Obama has a dick, but I believe all that other stuff.”

He later addressed the backlash over the COVID discussions on his podcast, saying, “If you get your vaccine information from me, is that really my fault?”

Elsewhere in the special, he followed in the footsteps of comedians such as Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais, who were criticized for jokes about transgender people in their specials. Rogan started his similar material with a series of jokes about “pregnant men” and then expanded into his stance that trans acceptance has happened too quickly in American culture.

“I’m open-minded,” he said. “I just want to know what happened. It’s almost as if a perverted wizard has cast a magic spell on the entire world. ‘With a wave of this wand you can walk into the ladies’ locker room with a hard cock, and anyone who complains is a Nazi. Abracadabra!’ And it just works! And everyone just accepts this new reality, and it’s fucking weird. I just think we need standards. You can’t just put on lipstick and now you can shit in the ladies’ room!”

He later turned his attention to gay men, saying, “I don’t hate anyone. I love everyone. And I like gay men. But I think about gay men the same way I think about mountain lions: I’m glad they’re real, but I don’t want to be surrounded by them. It’s a bunch of guys fucking guys. I don’t like my chances, okay? They’re not unicorns; it’s just men fucking men. And every man who ever lived is a devious sperm seller, okay? 100%. Especially those who say no.”

“Burn the Boats” was recorded live at San Antonio’s Majestic Theater and is Rogan’s first comedy special in six years since 2018’s “Strange Times.” It is his third straight special to debut on Netflix, a collaboration that began with ‘Triggered’ from 2016.

Netflix has developed a number of high-profile live comedy events over the past year and a half, including Chris Rock’s 2023 stand-up special “Selective Outrage,” John Mulaney’s recent talk show “Everybody’s in LA” and May’s “The Roast of Tom.” Brady.”