John Oliver Destroys “Moron” Joe Rogan Over Vaccine Comments

John Oliver is spreading the word to Americans to get the vaccine and help end the pandemic, and is bashing people like Joe Rogan for contributing to vaccine hesitancy along the way. On last night’s episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, the host tore into Rogan for comments he made last week on his podcast dissuading young people from getting the coronavirus vaccine, The Daily Beast reports.

“Stop listening to what Joe Rogan tells you, he’s a ‘fucking moron’ — and those are his words, not mine,” Oliver told his viewers after Rogan, a comedian and podcaster, said on his Spotify show that he would tell “healthy” 21-year-olds they don’t need to worry about getting vaccinated.

Oliver began his segment explaining why it’s so important to get vaccinated, no matter your age. “Our best way out of this mess long term is clearly vaccines,” he said. “These vaccines can save not just your life but the lives of people around you, and it’s genuinely dispiriting that just a few months into the vaccine rollout we are already at this point.

“And the problem is, for the coronavirus, the herd immunity threshold is thought to be between 70 and 90 percent of the population, but a survey found that while 60 percent of American adults have got — or want to get — the vaccine, and about 18 percent say ‘maybe,’ and 22 percent say ‘no,” Oliver added.

Pulling in Rogan’s comments from last week, the late night host continued, “If you’re thinking, ‘Yeah, I’m not sure I’ll need it. Joe Rogan says I’m probably fine. Look, it is true: You might not get seriously sick from COVID — or indeed sick at all — but you could still inadvertently pass it to someone who could then die.

“And before you say, ‘Well, vulnerable people should just get vaccinated then,’ the vaccines are only 95 percent effective,” he said. “So they’ll probably be okay, but maybe not. Also, the more the virus circulates, the likelier we’ll see mutations that make it more dangerous, possibly helping it to evade the vaccine completely, putting us all the way back to square one, so get the fucking vaccine!”

As one of the most popular podcasters today with over 10 million listeners, Rogan’s comments were met with immediate backlash last week. The “Joe Rogan Experience” host has since apologized, calling himself “a fucking moron” for his comments about the vaccine, insisting he’s “not an anti-vaxx person,” and believes the vaccines are safe. “I’m not a doctor … I’m a cage fighting commentator who’s a dirty standup comedian who just told you I’m drunk most of the time and I do testosterone and I smoke a lot of weed. But I’m not a respected source of information, even for me,” Rogan said.

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver airs Sundays at 11/10c on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max. Watch the full segment from last night’s episode in the video above.

Where to watch Last Week Tonight With John Oliver