Joe Rogan forced to cancel Canada event due to vaccine mandate

Joe Rogan—host of popular Joe Rogan Experience show and the biggest podcast star on Spotify—has been forced to cancel an upcoming show in Canada…

By: Karim Zidan | 1 year ago
Joe Rogan forced to cancel Canada event due to vaccine mandate
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Joe Rogan—host of popular Joe Rogan Experience show and the biggest podcast star on Spotify—has been forced to cancel an upcoming show in Canada due to the country’s Covid-19 vaccine requirements.

The longtime UFC commentator revealed on a recent podcast episode that he decided to cancel his April 20 event at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada due to the country’s requirements that all non-citizens traveling by air must be fully vaccinated against the virus.

“I should probably say this because I haven’t yet. My 4/20 show that sold out in Vancouver, I don’t think that’s happening,” Rogan said on Dec. 24. “I don’t think I can even get into the country. I’m not vaccinated, I’m not gonna get vaccinated. I have antibodies, it doesn’t make any sense. I don’t think I can go.”

While the Provincial Health Office stated that event performers are not required to be vaccinated, some venues, including Rogers Arena, introduced additional requirements to ensure the safety of its participants. Since Rogan is not vaccinated, he is not allowed to perform at the arena.

Rogan, an outspoken opponent of vaccine mandates, contracted Covid-19 in September and opted to treat the virus with an array of alternative and unproven remedies such as the antiparasitic medication Ivermectin, antibiotics, and a vitamin drip. He also used monoclonal antibodies.

Earlier this year, Rogan told his millions of listeners that healthy young people do not need the Covid-19 vaccine, and was later condemned for spreading misinformation. He clarified his comments a week later, adding that he is “not an anti-vax person.”

“I believe [the Covid-19 vaccines are] safe and I encourage many people to take ‘em,” Rogan said during an April 2021 episode of the JRE with comedian Andrew Santino. “I just said, I don’t think that if you’re a young, healthy person, that you need it.”

Share this story

About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

More from the author

Recent Stories