Sweet, darling Tim Walz absolutely sets the standard for how men should behave, so it’s no wonder that his daughter Hope Walz has some thoughts about dating dealbreakers.
Hope said via TikTok that she won’t date someone who is a fan of Joe Rogan. She explained, “A litmus test for me and my friends for, like, years now has been if the guy we’re talking to follows Joe Rogan on Instagram, they’re a red flag and we should probably stop talking to them.”
Hope added, “this person probably isn’t a great person and probably our values don’t align.” She added that things haven’t been awesome anytime she and her pals ignore their gut instincts and continue to chat with someone who loves Rogan.
Everyone is likely on the same page about why Rogan bros aren’t the best boyfriend choices, but let’s unpack it anyway. Hope’s point that “our values don’t align” is right on the money. Rogan might have said he wouldn’t vote for Donald Trump this past summer, but he then endorsed Trump right before the election.
Rogan’s love of Trump isn’t surprising given, well, pretty much everything he’s ever uttered on his (somehow) popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Let’s start with his COVID vaccine misinformation. He said, “I don’t think it’s true there’s an increased risk of myocarditis from people catching Covid-19 that are young, versus the risk from the vaccine.” He also called the vaccine “essentially gene therapy” (nope). He also had biology prof. and author Bret Weinstein on, who made the false statement about Ivermectin curing COVID. But don’t worry! Rogan later said “I’m not an anti-vax person.” And he also said on the podcast, “I’m not a doctor. I’m a f—ing moron.” Hey, he said it!
Hope is 100% right to turn away from men who follow Rogan, who claims he’s just having conversations with interesting people so his hatred and false statements don’t matter. Rogan’s vibe is that he’s just having fun and chatting and it’s really not a big deal. This sets a dangerous precedent for podcasters and anyone creating content. The idea that you can say whatever you want and then later take it back isn’t what anyone should be striving for.
Media Matters researcher Alex Paterson has been talking about Rogan’s podcast for a few years now, and they perfectly described why he’s so problematic. Paterson told The Verge that the podcaster “celebrates himself as being a so-called independent thinker who has both conservative and progressive values.” Paterson added, “he’s become more emboldened to push baseless conspiracy theories and right-wing lies.” One gross example that Paterson brought up: The Joe Rogan Experience episode with anti-trans journalist Abigail Shrier.
If Rogan’s misinformation isn’t reason enough to agree with Hope about his male fanbase, maybe his own views on relationships will drive the point home. In an interview with Sean O’Malley, Rogan said, “To be sexist and to talk in sexist terms, women, they go to a man as a provider. She’s going to want a guy who can keep it together, right?” Has any woman talked about a man being a “provider” since the 1950s?
I’m just glad that Rogan wasn’t a podcaster back when I was dating via Tinder and OKCupid. I can only imagine that I would have to adopt Hope’s brilliant rule, too.