Transcription
I apologize to Theo. He knows I love him, and when he said that, we laughed and we joked around about it. I apologized for the way I talked about this, but I felt like I needed to explain to other people too, to get just like what was going on in my mind out. And it certainly wasn't like covering for Israel. And it certainly wasn't like trying to paint him out like he's damaged or treat him like a child. I just want him to be okay. And, um, when you're dealing with someone, or when you have like, had experience dealing with someone where it winds up going very badly, and then you're just left with this feeling like, what could I have done? You know, I didn't do a good job of it. You know, especially like the Marcus King thing, like that's terrible what I did. I didn't mean to. I was just trying to, you don't think sometimes when you're in the middle of a podcast, you're just having a conversation, you don't think about the impact that it's going to have.
All right, so Joe Rogan just addressed the Theo Von controversy that everyone has been talking about. You know, this is pretty big news. So during his most recent podcast, after the guest left, him and Jamie stayed and did an extra 15 to 20 minutes where Joe just talked about how badly he feels for telling Theo he was losing his marbles a few months ago, and then the other day bringing up him being depressed and making it sound like he's barely hanging on. Like, Joe sounded pretty emotional about it, and he said he apologized to Theo and they're good, but he really regrets the way he talked about him. He also said Theo's been doing really well recently. So, it's kind of weird he was acting like Theo was going through it just last week. But, I guess since the topic of anti-depressants was brought up on the podcast, it just made him think of Theo and him trying to get off them and then bomb his Netflix special. But just the way Joe randomly brought this up was kind of strange. Like, it's been eight months since that happened, so it seems kind of random.
Also though, I think maybe the reason Joe brought it up had something to do with him telling Theo he's losing his marbles because Joe got a ton of backlash for that, and everyone was saying Joe's trying to gaslight Theo because he's ranting about Israel and Palantir, and Joe's trying to silence him. So, I think maybe he believed if he brought up how Theo is actually going through it and struggling, and he's been trying to help him, then people would understand that he's just trying to get Theo to calm down because he's been losing it recently. But of course, it just made things so much worse. And the conspiracy theorists think Joe is trying to make Theo seem crazy, or trying to make him go crazy, or is even setting him up to be suicided. Like, people think Joe's telling people Theo's depressed and going through it because somebody's going to take him out, and then they're going to claim it was a suicide. And there are a bunch of people saying this in the comments on Twitter. So the conspiracy theorists were really running with this, and they're all telling him he needs to cut off Joe and he's bad for him. But it sounds like Theo and Joe are still good friends. He's not buying into the theories yet. I mean, it might happen at some point, but Joe said he called him, apologized, and they're all good. And it sounds like Joe's been trying to help him off the air, which he should have just stuck to that. Like, having Theo on his podcast and talking to him like he's out of his mind and he needs to calm down was a bad idea, obviously. And then I think it just snowballed from there and resulted in everyone thinking Rogan's trying to stop Theo from speaking his mind because he's exposing Peter Teal and Israel too much.
He did a show for Netflix and it apparently didn't go well. And afterwards he said something to someone in the audience where he said, "I'm just trying to not take my own life or not end my own life." I, I forget exactly how he said it. Certainly shouldn't have brought that up in that context. And I, I probably shouldn't have brought it up, period. But I just sort of wanted to kind of explain why I have this thing with Theo where I just want him to be okay. And you know, we did a podcast a while back where we were talking about, um, he started talking about Israel, and I was like, I think you're just losing your mind. And a lot of people like, you're you're covering for Israel. And it wasn't what I was trying to do. And it is my fault. It's it's clunky. And I was just trying to talk him off the ledge because I had seen this video. And you, you had seen that video, too.
From from that perspective, from from that podcast on, uh, Theo has gotten off the meds. He titrated off. He weaned himself off. He's doing yoga every day or running every day. He's doing something. He's much happier, much healthier. I'm not. So, it's for him to see that I think that he's suicing. That's my failing as a friend. It's my failing as a person. And it's also me talking to Marcus almost sort of selfishly ham-handedly try to explain why I talked to him the way I talked to him on that podcast. Then it comes out like Theo has to defend it. And then then I called him up and I said, "Ludge, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think of that." And that's very selfish of me. I didn't think that you would have to respond. I didn't I didn't even think of it. I just wanted to explain it when Marcus was talking about it and I wanted to put it into a context. Theo is one of my favorite people. He's an a very unusual and very amazing person. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt that guy. And the last thing I'd ever want to do is like say something that would have people think about him in a negative way, which I'm sure I did. And this is one of the reasons why I wanted to make this video and I wanted to apologize. But the the whole the the problem with like people that are suffering, and I'm not even say he's suffering anymore cuz I think he's doing well right now, but at times he has been. They don't tell you what's going on. And especially a guy like Theo, I don't see him that often. I see him every few months. And when I talk to him, it's fun. We have the best time. We laugh a lot. I love being his friend. I love hanging out with him. But I worry.
So if Theo was really going through it, Joe probably should have just waited to have him on his podcast because I mean, if you watch his last appearance, it seemed like Theo was having an existential crisis. And he talks to Rogan like he's a father figure and he always wants him to tell him everything's going to be okay, which it sounds like Joe is genuinely worried and wants to help him. Doing this publicly though is obviously really messy. But it is a tough position for Joe. You know, if Theo really is spiraling and having an existential crisis, then it's obviously a lot of pressure for Rogan to try to calm down and reassure him, especially when he's trying to do this on a podcast. So, they probably should have sorted all this out behind the scenes first because doing this on a podcast only makes things worse obviously. Also, he probably wants to agree with Theo that his concerns are valid, but at the same time, he doesn't want Theo thinking the world's ending and everybody's after him and trying to kill him, which it seemed like Theo started to believe. You know, he said he thought people are following him around and he's all paranoid about Palantir drones taking people out. And then during his most recent appearance, every 10 minutes he's like, "I'm scared. Everybody's scared. Something bad is about to happen. Joe, is everything going to be okay?" I mean, it almost sounded like a kid talking to his dad for reassurance.
"I'm fear, dude. I'm scared. I'll be honest with you."
"Yeah, you should be."
"I'm scared."
"Well, it's it's a scary time because this is a real. People are war."
"Well, it's just a scary time."
"It's a scary time because people are willing to blow people up with [ __ ] drones and missiles."
"And even blacks are getting scared though."
"For real."
"Yeah. Everybody is scared out of their wits right now. It's like,"
"But no, people are just scared, dude. And everybody just feels scared and it makes"
"Well, they should because a lot of things are getting exposed right now compared to 30 300 Win Mag."
"I'm just scared, dude."
"So 300 Win Mag I think is fatter."
"I don't know. I think I'm just scared. And it's like Yeah. What do you What do you think is going to happen? You think we're going to be okay?"
"I hope so. Of course. I don't know."
"That's what's scary, too. You're like, there's just a drone out there waiting for you to say the wrong thing and they put a bullet through you like some child in Gaza who's just trying to [ __ ] find his other deceased brother in a [ __ ] pile of rubble and it feels like maybe this is crazy, but it feels like we're at the last cusp before something weird is going to happen. Didn't you say something weird might happen, Jamie?"
So, he's kind of freaking out during that episode, and ever since the Department of Homeland Security posted that video using a clip of him to promote ICE, and he got a ton of backlash for it and death threats, I'm sure. Which this was right after Charlie Kirk was assassinated. So, he thought he was next and he was scared to leave his house and he started freaking out, which I think them posting that video might have actually been an intimidation tactic. Trump tries to control people and get them in line through intimidation. Like, they had to know Theo would get a ton of [ __ ] for this and the timing was awful. You know, Charlie Kirk was just assassinated. There are a ton of ICE protests. Theo is already getting a ton of [ __ ] for supporting Trump and he also had a comedy special he needed to record coming up.
"And you got ICE raids where, you know, they're taking people that are American citizens and they're scaring the [ __ ] out of everybody and they're"
"Yeah, dude. They made me the video thing that you see that thing where they put on the video."
"Oh, that was crazy. They didn't even ask you."
"Oh, it was really scary. Homeland Security. Was that what it was?"
"Yeah. Just put it up online and it was Charlie Kirk thing. Yeah. And so then I was like super scared. You remember"
"Remember I was texting like you? I was just texting people to make sure everybody's okay. I didn't know if they were like just going to kill people that had been on TikTok or what the [ __ ] I had no idea what they were going to do."
"I just can't believe they did that with you where they just put it in there as if like you were endorsing that."
"Well, it just kind of and it was just a scary time. That was the same time as um after the thing that"
And I think during his own podcast, Theo said he was scared to leave his house for a while and kept all the blinds closed. Then he thought somebody was following him around at the doctor's office and spying on him or something. Like, he got really paranoid and still seems to be trying to recover from it. But I mean, this is what happens when you start rubbing elbows with Trump and JD Vance. Obviously, that was a terrible idea for these guys. Like, Theo's freaking out all the time. Schultz is trying to walk things back for having Trump on almost every podcast now. Rogan gets a ton of [ __ ] and Trump keeps trying to pull him back into MAGA. And now he has that UFC White House event coming up, which he seems really paranoid about. So getting involved with Trump was a total [ __ ] show for these people.
Also, now everyone thinks Rogan's compromised and scared to talk about Israel or let anyone talk about Israel on his podcast, which I mean, like I said in my last video, I think the narrative that Rogan's trying to silence Theo and is only saying he's losing it because he's against Israel is kind of exaggerated because Rogan always promotes Tim Dillon, who's extremely critical of Israel. He also has on people like Sam Tripley, Kurt Mezer, Dave Smith, Daryl Cooper, and Ian Carol, who thinks Israel is behind everything. Rogan also got into it recently with Gad Sad. He pressed him quite a bit about Israel. And Rogan even brought up the theory to him that Israel might have purposely allowed October 7th to happen so then they'd have a reason to go into Gaza and demolish it, which I covered all that on Patreon if you're interested. So, in my opinion, it doesn't seem like Rogan is some hardcore Israel shill that gets all nervous when people bring up what they're doing to Gaza. I mean, he brings it up constantly. So, I don't think he's trying to silence Theo, of all people, for talking about Israel. I mean, if he were to silence any of his friends, you'd think it would be Dave Smith or Tim Dylan. You know, they've done the most at combating the Zionist narrative. And Rogan promotes these guys like crazy. You know, Dave Smith is like his go-to political commentator and Tim Dylan is his favorite podcaster. So, I think the theory that Rogan is acting like Theo's losing it only because he speaks out about Gaza is kind of exaggerated. Like, I think he just started getting really worried about Theo and felt like he needed to calm him down, and doing things publicly obviously was just a total disaster.
I got scared first of all because I love Theo and second of all because I've known multiple people that have taken their own life that I was close to that I didn't know they were going to do it until they did it. And when they did it, you feel so [ __ ] and so helpless. You don't you don't know what you could have said or done differently. Um, since the podcast where I told him he started talking about Israel and people were saying I was covering for Israel. There's people that even say my wife is Jewish. She's not. I don't know why people are saying that. But I get how if you are conspiratorially minded, you would think that that's what I was doing. But if you've listened to the show, you wouldn't think that that's how it. I've had so many episodes where we criticize Israel. So many. So that I, I brought in Dave Smith to argue with Douglas Murray because I didn't want Douglas Murray to be able to say these things that were promoting this war in Gaza without someone who's very educated, who understands what's going on, which is Dave, and very good at arguing.
So Dave Smith and Tim Dylan talk about the same stuff Theo does and Rogan encourages it and promotes it. So, I think he probably feels like Theo just isn't cut out for politics because I mean, it's toxic as hell and a dirty game. And look where him supporting Trump has gotten him. Like, I don't think he's really prepared for what he got himself into. You know, he's really naive. Like, he went to Trump's inauguration. He interviewed him. He's hanging out with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump and JD Vance. And now he's freaking out all the time. He thinks people are trying to take him out. Department of Homeland Security posted that video with him. He got a ton of [ __ ] for that. He bombed his special. You know, he's been going through it. So getting involved in all that I think was a total disaster. You know, he flew too close to the sun and now he isn't handling it well. But it's hard to tell how badly Theo was going through it because he says it was all overblown. But it sounds like he was really freaking out and maybe he just wanted everybody to calm down. But either way, Rogan seemed to be genuinely worried about him, which maybe he was overreacting. But either way, it sounds like Rogan actually believed Theo might harm himself. And Rogan says he feels guilty about not talking to some of his other friends who ended up ending themselves. He also says Ari Shafir was depressed and he told him the same thing Theo said about how he's just trying not to kill himself, but then Ari got on anti-depressants and Joe says he thinks that actually saved his life.
Having been through this with like Ari where Ari like, and I should say this, like Theo got off anti-depressants. Anti-depressants probably saved Ari's life. There was uh Ari Shafir. I'll never forget this. We were playing pool and he was just just seemed really weird and I said, "What's going on, man?" And he's like, "I'm just trying not to kill myself." I'm like, "Oh, fuck." And then we put the pool cues down. I'm like, "What's going on?" Like, and so I think he was taking an anti-depressant then, but it wasn't working. And I got him a different psychiatrist and they got him on an anti-depressant that helped him. And it really helped. And then his life started getting better. His career got way better. He started, that's when This Is Not Happening came out. He was killing it. And then he weaned himself off and now he's fine. And he's not the only one. I've had a couple other friends that have gotten on anti-depressants and fixed their life. Um, at least temporarily and then they got off of it. I mean, it's I, I don't think it's impossible, but I, I get real scared when people get attached to these things and they can't get off of them. And this is this is the case, I think, at least in some part. I mean, Theo was on them for like 20 years. And I'd send him a bunch of these articles about these people that like lose feeling in their genitals and all these crazy side effects of getting off of these things. The problem with that nothing thing is then if they do something, you [ __ ] live with it forever. And this has happened to me, you know, like the first guy that I knew that killed himself was this guy Drake, uh, who was a writer on NewsRadio and he was a great guy. He was awesome, interesting. He was a comedian, fascinating guy who became a writer and then and uh, when he killed himself, I was like, what that guy, like, how I never saw it coming. I, I didn't I didn't imagine that he would ever do that. Anthony Bourdain was a hard one because I felt he's one of those ones I felt like [ __ ] if I could have been there and talked to him, I could have talked him off that ledge, you know, and you live with that. You're like that feeling of I could have done something. And when I do sit down with someone like Theo and have a conversation, they and they start talking about either depression or not being able to get off pills, or I get very ham-handed and you know, and in the context of a a podcast, it's just not a good way to deal with something like that. It's not a good way to like, you're trying to calm someone down and at the same time, you're also trying to do a show. It's it's [ __ ] too weird. The Brody Stevens one was a really hard one, too, cuz I knew that Brody was struggling. You know, there was a time where Brody got off his pills and he was he had a different issue. It wasn't simply depression. There was there was a legitimate psychological issue. And I think I've talked about this before, but Zach Galifianakis reached out and he knew that I was Brody's friend and he said, "Hey, don't engage with him. He's off his medication. We're trying to get him back on again." And then after that, sometime after that, Brody took his own life. And I remember thinking, "Fuck, what could I have done? What could I have said something differently? What could I have done? I'm a human and I'm flawed like all of us." And I [ __ ] up. And uh, it's probably not the last time. It's definitely not. I'm going to [ __ ] up again. But my intention is never to hurt anybody ever. And that's why I, I mean, I very rarely if ever even get upset at anyone other than like corrupt politicians.
So too bad Donald Trump isn't one of those corrupt politicians Joe gets upset at. But that was basically Joe's response there. I think he was actually pretty concerned about Theo. And obviously, this is a tough position to be in. And like I said, I think him trying to calm Theo down on a podcast is where he really went wrong. He should have just tried to handle it behind the scenes because it's already a really difficult situation. But I think this was a pretty good way to address it and try to move past it and put an end to it. We'll see if Theo addresses it and what he has to say. But let me know you guys think about it all down in the comments and check out the Patreon. I just posted a big video on there about Joe Rogan versus an MSAD agent where Rogan really pressed Gad a lot and made him look like a fool. And Rogan even questioned him about if Israel allowed October 7th to happen and his response was not very good. So people really enjoyed that video. I also recently talked about Tim Dylan and Alex Jones exposing the UFO SCOP. And I also have a lot of videos about Candace Owens and Alex Jones crashing out, which people enjoy. And I believe there are over 200 exclusive videos on there and they're all over 20 minutes. So if you enjoy the channel, want extra content, want to stay up to date with everything, definitely check it out. It'll be worth it. They'll be linked in the description.