Post Malone fans turn on singer over Joe Rogan podcast appearance
Post Malone has appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience multiple times (Image: YouTube)Post Malone created controversy among his fans after a clip of his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience resurfaced.Post Malone, also known as Austin Post, 30, appeared on Rogan’s, 58, uber-popular podcast twice. In a 2023 interview, Post and Rogan discussed the living conditions in Canada. Post questioned if Rogan would consider living in another country, to which the older man replied that he would’ve chosen Canada “up until recently.”“All that s--- they did during COVID was just the total wrong direction,” continued Rogan.Canada, which has a population of 38 million people, had the second-lowest mortality rate for COVID-19 following Japan. One study estimated that 70,000 more Canadians would have died if the country had a similar vaccination and death rate to the United States.Rogan criticized the Canadian government (Image: Getty)Rogan then turned his attention to “the trucker convoy.” The “Freedom Convoy” was a series of protests, blockades and demonstrations across Canada in early 2022. The protests were initially organized by truck drivers opposed to mandates requiring they receive the COVID-19 vaccine to make cross-border deliveries. However, the demonstrations expanded to protest other restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.Some raised concerns that there would be an attack on Parliament Hill akin to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.“Bro, they froze peoples’ bank accounts who donated money to the convoy,” said Rogan, “That’s crazy.” He referred to the blockade as a “peaceful protest, which everybody is supposed to be all about.”Post chimed in that someone "couldn't even buy a f---ing piece of toast."Rogan accused the Canadian government of “going after the people that donated, which is crazy.”Post Malone agreed with Rogan's criticisms (Image: Getty)Organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Lich were arrested on February 17, 2022. By February 19, the government had frozen at least 76 bank accounts associated with the protests, including Lich’s, totalling to a value of CA$3.2 million. The government invoked the Emergencies Act to restrict the protestors’ bank accounts. Most of the frozen accounts were released by February 23.After the first accounts were frozen, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association came forward to sue the government over its decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. The CCLA argued that the government did not properly use the Act, as it should be reserved for national emergencies.The Canadian Federal Court determined that the government infringed upon the freedom of expression of protestors who did not intend to breach the peace. The government freezing bank accounts and collecting financial information from protestors was also considered to be unreasonable search and seizue.The Canadian Freedom Convoy protests began on January 22, 2022 (Image: Getty)“That makes people self-censor, and that’s the terrifying aspect of that,” said Rogan.“That’s the thing, that people won't say, ‘it’s not that big of a deal, they gained their bank accounts back eventually.’ Look, that’s sending a very clear message that they can f– with you in ways that you probably hadn’t even thought about before,” he said.“They can f– with your money,” continued Rogan, “They can close your bank account. Never thought about it before.”"I loved this guy, on all my playlists for working out and running. F--- YOU @PostMalone keep my country’s name outta your mouth," wrote one Canadian on X.“Oh, yeah, terrible things we did, saving lives and all,” wrote another Canadian user in response to the clip of Post and Rogan.“This guy keeps talking s— about Canada for having similar covid time policies as most other countries. Dude, chill with Canada. Stay the f— outz!” added another.“Rogan is the kind of pseudo intelligent conspiracy knob that could only thrive in America. So it’s best that he stays there really,” reads one post condemning the podcast host.
