Comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan has offered $100,000 to a vaccine expert to debate Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his show.
Rogan challenged Dr. Peter Hotez following an interview he had with Kennedy Jr. Hotez is dean at the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Texas.
During the interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, Kennedy Jr. doubled down on claims that vaccines cause autism, which has been repeatedly disproven after British anti-vaccine activist Andrew Wakefield's study into an apparent link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and the condition was exposed as flawed and ultimately retracted.
Kennedy Jr., a member of the Kennedy political dynasty, also discussed the possibility of a CIA assassination attempt.
His uncle John F. Kennedy and father Robert F. Kennedy Sr. were both assassinated and their murders have been subject to conspiracy theories.
Following the interview, Hotez hit out at Rogan and Spotify over the interview and described the podcaster as sharing "vaccine misinformation."
In response, Rogan tweeted: "Peter, if you claim what RFKjr is saying is 'misinformation,' I am offering you $100,000.00 to the charity of your choice if you're willing to debate him on my show with no time limit."
Twitter owner Elon Musk also waded into the issue in a reply to Rogan where he said: "He's afraid of a public debate because he knows he's wrong."
He’s afraid of a public debate, because he knows he’s wrong
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2023
Kennedy Jr. added: "Peter. Let's finally have the respectful, congenial, informative debate that the American people deserve."
Hotez appeared willing to appear on Rogan's podcast, which has millions of listeners for every episode.
He said: "I'm happy to come on and have a meaningful discussion. I respect you and your show and I don't want an adversarial relationship. I think we can make some progress."
"And I'm open to a number of different options, but to be pressured to give you an answer on Twitter, now, with a 'take it or leave it' demand that's not how I work. Honestly, I don't even think that would be in your best interests," he added.
And I’m open to a number of different options, but to be pressured to give you an answer on Twitter, now, with a “take it or leave it” demand that’s not how I work. Honestly, I don’t even think that would be in your best interests.
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) June 18, 2023
The World Health Organization has said "vaccines are actually very safe" and that most side effects "are minor and temporary, such as a sore arm or mild fever."
It did acknowledge on rare occasions—in the order of one to thousands to one per million—there are more serious adverse effects.
Kennedy Jr. started his political career as an environmental campaigner before he became involved in the vaccine skeptic movement.
His profile grew during the COVID-19 pandemic with the publication of his 2021 book The Real Anthony Fauci, which criticized the chief medical adviser to the president as being part of "a historic coup d'etat against Western democracy."
The book was slammed by critics, although it proved to be a commercial success and was a New York Times bestseller.
Earlier this year, Kennedy Jr. launched his bid for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.
Newsweek reached out to Hotez via email for comment.
Correction 06/19/23, 3:22 p.m. ET: This story was updated to reflect that Elon Musk is no longer the CEO of Twitter.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Anders Anglesey is a U.S. News Reporter based in London, U.K., covering crime, politics, online extremism and trending stories. Anders ... Read more
