Country singer John Rich has clapped back at a detractor online after he spoke out in agreement with comments made recently by Joe Rogan and Terrence Howard about COVID-19 vaccines.
During an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience that went live over the weekend, Empire star Howard spoke at length about his lifelong interest in physics and challenged the foundations of the science as he touted various theories. Howard also praised the host for his stance against taking the COVID-19 vaccines.
"You took a bold stand years ago when the governments were trying to poison their citizens," Howard told Rogan. "You took a very bold stand that nobody else took. That's when I was like, 'Wow, I appreciate you,' because I lost three, four jobs because I refused to take it."
"I bet you feel better about it now," Rogan responded, "especially when you know all these people that have had health problems because of it."
"Now we have all of these diseases that are showing themselves because the body is overwhelmed trying to deal with the spike protein," Howard said. "And the more boosters you get, the worse your outcomes are going to be."
Musician Rich, who has long expressed skepticism over the vaccines, waded into the conversation this week, when he took to X, formerly Twitter, to post an article on the interview and call on the controversial Dr. Peter A. McCullough to weigh in.
"If you have to offer people doughnuts and hamburgers to take the jab, or worse, threaten them with unemployment and ridicule if they don't, you're one of the bad guys. Tick-Tock goes the clock. @P_McCulloughMD is a hero," Rich posted.
As Rich's comments sparked a debate on the micro-blogging platform, one detractor responded to the star: "You know I don't even know any song of yours."
"Sounds like a miserable existence," Rich quipped as he clapped back.
While Rich has supported Rogan and Howard in their shared stance on the vaccines, musician Jack White has been highly critical of the pair.
"Hey everyone, just a reminder you should definitely be getting your facts about science and medicine from [Terrence] Howard and Joe [Rogan]," the former White Stripes rocker wrote on Instagram on Sunday. "I wouldn't waste any time trusting scientists or [doctors] who went to universities etc. for 12 years getting a PHD or anything.
"Nor should you trust anyone who understands what peer reviewing is etc. [It's] really great that MMA Joe uses his platform in front of millions to make sure everyone gets the truth. Keep up the great work [MAGA] Joe, you're HELPING people!"
McCullough has attracted much attention on social media and through research papers, which have been universally slammed by his peers. He has claimed that COVID-19 vaccines cause heart disease because of the spike proteins found in them.
However, his theories have repeatedly been found to be false by a range of fact-checking services, especially because research has shown that the spike proteins in the vaccine don't behave in a similar way as they do in the coronavirus.
Spike proteins are found on the surface of COVID-19 virus cells and are included in vaccines used to prevent the virus, in order to teach the body to create a replica of the spike proteins, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This is so that the body can trigger an immune response to fight the virus in future and after the spike proteins have done their job, our cells break them down and remove them from the body as waste.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
