John Oliver calls Joe Rogan “fucking moron” over vaccine comments

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver has labelled Joe Rogan a “fucking moron” in regards to his comments about young people not getting vaccinated.

• READ MORE: Unscripted telly and sci-fi escapism – how COVID-19 will change the future of film and TV

Oliver said on his latest show (May 2) that fans shouldn’t listen to Rogan on the issue because it endangers others. Rogan said previously on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience that young people who are healthy shouldn’t bother getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

“If you’re thinking, ‘Yeah, I’m not sure I’ll need it. Joe Rogan says I’m probably fine’. 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,” Oliver said.

“And before you say, ‘Well, vulnerable people should just get vaccinated then,’ the vaccines are only 95 per cent effective…so they’ll probably be ok, 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!”

Here’s last night’s story about why some people don’t want to get the Covid-19 vaccine, and why they should anyway: https://t.co/2wxbqioUzZ

— Last Week Tonight (@LastWeekTonight) May 3, 2021

He added: “Stop listening to what Joe Rogan tells you, he’s a ‘fucking moron’ – and those are his words, not mine.”

Comedian Rogan clarified his comments in another podcast episode following a backlash, saying: “I am not an anti-vax person. In fact, I said I believe they are safe and I encourage many people to take them. I just said if you’re a young healthy person, you don’t need it. Their argument was you need it for other people…And yes, that makes sense.”

Rogan had referred to himself using the “moron” insult when he expanded on his views.

“I’m not a doctor, I’m a fucking moron,” he said, “and I’m a cage-fighting commentator who’s a dirty stand-up comedian. I’m not a respected source of information, even for me.”

In other news, Oliver recently spoke out against US President Joe Biden and his delay in raising the cap on refugee admissions.

The post John Oliver calls Joe Rogan “fucking moron” over vaccine comments appeared first on NME.