Joe Rogan has sparked backlash online after sharing a controversial video that compares Covid vaccines to the Holocaust.
The podcast host shared a video on Instagram of himself making the comparison, and in it, he discusses the concept of "freedom" and how the US represents this ideal, Indy100 reports.
As he discusses freedom in relation to Covid vaccines, Rogan plays footage that adds a whole new context to what he is saying.
Watch the controversial video below:Rogan makes his point by showing footage of Jewish ghettos in 1940s Europe, Adolf Hitler, the SS, and a concentration camp in Majdanek, Poland, which Indy100 reports was the site of the mass murder of at least 78,000 people.
"As soon as you give politicians power, any kind of power that didn’t exist previously, if they can figure out a way to force you into carrying something that lets you enter businesses or lets you do this or lets businesses open, historically, they are not gonna give that power up," Rogan says.
"They find new reasons to use it. We have to protect those freedoms at all cost, whether you agree with people's choices or not, because it is the foundation that this country was founded on: freedom."
Rogan doesn't explicitly mention the Holocaust or Nazis, however, the images coupled with the context or what he is saying make the metaphor clear.
The video sparked instantaneous backslash on social media and people were quick to take to Twitter to express their distaste.
Reacting to the footage, one Twitter user wrote: "This may be the most ignorant and insensitive thing he has ever done. And that's a big ask!!"
A second added: "This isn't about freedom. Freedom has limits, we don't all need to do what ever we want. Why ? Because we all live here together, and we want different things as individuals. 'Freedom' doesn't mean putting others in danger or make them sick, knowingly or not. [sic]"
A third wrote: "Jesuschrist joe rogan, holocaust analogies ten seconds in [sic]."
A fourth questioned: "Can one of Joe's previous, intelligent guests come back and talk some sense into him?"
Indy100 reports that Rogan has been open about his anti-Covid vaccine stance and even encouraged "healthy 21-year-olds" to not get vaccinated, despite the jabs being recommended by CDC.