Country music singer John Rich has shared his take on the current anti-vaccination dispute involving Joe Rogan, Robert Kennedy Jr., and Dr. Peter Hotez.
Comedian and podcaster Rogan called out Dr. Hotez on Twitter and challenged him to debate Kennedy Jr. on the merits of vaccines, suggesting he'd be willing to donate $100,000 to charity if he did so. Hotez has seemingly denied the opportunity to enter a debate. Newsweek has reached out to him for further comment.
Rich isn't the only one whose attention has been grabbed by the back and forth between Rogan and Hotez, as Twitter owner Elon Musk also weighed in.
Best known for being part of the country music duo Big & Rich, the singer replied to Rogan's tweet offering Hotez the ultimatum of money for his charity in exchange for an open debate on his podcast.
John Rich, pictured in 2018, gave his opinion on an ongoing debate with Joe Rogan, pictured in 2019, and Dr. Peter Hotez about anti-vaccination rhetorics.John Rich, pictured in 2018, gave his opinion on an ongoing debate with Joe Rogan, pictured in 2019, and Dr. Peter Hotez about anti-vaccination rhetorics.Jason Kempin / Michael S. Schwartz/gett"Money talks," Rich replied on Sunday, tweeting out to his nearly one million followers. It's not the first time Rich has discussed controversial issues online.
Earlier in June, Rich wrote that Jamie Foxx "should sue Pfizer" after rumors emerged suggesting the star's recent health issues were caused by a complication from the COVID-19 vaccine. These claims have been fact-checked by Newsweek and found to be unverified.
Musk was more cutting when he shared his opinion of the Hotez, Kennedy, and Rogan dispute. "He's afraid of a public debate, because he knows he's wrong," Musk wrote.
Rogan welcomed lawyer, author, politician, and nephew to President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy Jr., onto his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience where they discussed his anti-vaccination stance at length. Rogan described how he'd been convinced of Kennedy's viewpoint after reading his book, The Real Anthony Fauci. The book criticized the former chief medical advisor to the president during the pandemic as being part of "a historic coup d'etat against Western democracy."
After the show aired on Spotify, Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and a global health advocate, called out their conversation, accusing the streaming platform of failing to censor the "nonsense."
"Spotify Has Stopped Even Sort of Trying to Stem Joe Rogan's Vaccine Misinformation," he wrote on Saturday. "And from all the online attacks I'm receiving after this absurd podcast, it's clear many actually believe this nonsense."
Rogan pounced on Hotez's words, which sparked a multi-tweet back and forth between the pair. Hotez offered to speak with Rogan one on one but declined the opportunity to debate Kennedy openly.
Rogan later told his followers on Twitter that Hotez was "NOT agreeing to debate [Robert Kennedy Jr.]. He's just offering to come on my show by himself."
Newsweek has contacted Hotez's representatives via email for a response and will update this article as soon as we receive a response.
Kennedy Jr., who is married to actress Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), in April announced his intention to run for the Democratic nomination for the 2024 presidential election.
