Joe Rogan doesn't think men should take paternity leave as he mocks Pete Buttgieg for taking one

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By Nika Shakhnazarova

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Joe Rogan is infamous for dishing out bold statements on his podcast, but this time, his opinion on paternity leave has really touched a nerve among loyal listeners.

During an episode on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, with guest and comedian Bridget Phetasy, Rogan offered his strong take on paternity leave, saying he's completely against it.

The pair discussed how US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is currently on leave after adopting twins with his husband.

This seems to have angered Rogan, as the US is currently experiencing shipping delays because of port congestion in California.

Phetasy brought up how Buttigieg and his husband took a photo of them and their newborns in what looked like a hospital bed, noting she found it bizarre since neither of them gave birth.

Now that the politician is on leave, Rogan asked why men should be taking time off work.

"Isn't that supposed to be for the person who gave birth?" Rogan asked on his show. "Do men take paternity leave? This idea that both parents should get maternity and paternity leave at the same time is a little weird."

Phetasy explained how European countries have paternity leave legislation to ensure both parents get adequate time with their newborn child, and provide extra support to their partner during sleepless nights.

He replied: "That's great. You wanna live in Germany? Because in America you gotta work...we're not in Europe, and for America, this is a new concept.

"When someone in government, who is a man, who didn't give birth, and there is two of them, and they both are off work and they get free money or what happens?"

Phetasy explained that taking paternity leave isn't a vacation and that, in fact, it's quite the opposite.

"It's not just about the baby, the mom needs support in the aftermath of giving birth," she told Rogan. "It's not just to bond with the kid. It feels like we don't have to same social cohesion and family structures that we used to have."

Rogan then went on to claim that this is why men are more attractive to employers because they don't give birth and therefore don't need to take time off and cost the business.

However, loads of people on social media were furious at the lack of understanding from Rogan on why paternity leave is so important.

Paternity leave is still an emerging concept in the US as it's only been mandated in five states: New York, California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington state, and Washington D.C.

It comes as Fox's Tucker Carlson also mocked Buttigieg earlier this month.

"Pete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child. Paternity leave, they call it, trying to figure out how to breastfeed. No word on how that went," he said.

Featured image credit: Sipa US / Alamy