Joe Rogan defended his friend Tucker Carlson from critics who call him "very odd" in a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast which featured comedians Shane Gillis, Ari Shaffir and Mark Normand..
During the over five-hour-long podcast, the discussion shifted towards a 2013 video of Carlson fishing in Central Park, where a man confronted him.
Despite the potentially contentious situation, Carlson handled it, insisting his fly fishing at the park is perfectly legal. This incident ended up leading to a friendly exchange between the former Fox News host and the stranger.
Schaffir noted that Carlson came across as “nice” in the video despite his controversial reputation.
Rogan recalled taking Carlson to his Comedy Mothership club in Austin, Tex., and defended him against his critics, insisting the media pundit is more normal than outlets and "online trolls" make him out to be.
“He’s not a bad guy, man, he’s not. I hung out with the dude. I met him a couple of times,” Rogan said.
“He went on the road with the [Grateful] Dead and followed them around,” Schaffir told the panel.
“He was a Grateful Dead-head,” Rogan responded.
“They get a bad idea about all these people,” he continued. “He’s in the f------ belly of the beast, and he recognizes it,” Rogan said about Carlson.
Rogan called the ex-Fox News host “very odd,” but a “good dude.” Schaffir followed up the host's comment by joking that Carlson is the “most Canadian American there is."
“He’s a nice guy, man. I’m telling you. He takes on controversial subjects and becomes a lightning rod for hate,” Rogan added. “We all want to classify people as on our tribe or not on our tribe. Are we in or are we out? It’s ideological.”
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As OK! previously reported, The Daily Show's John Stewart recently commented on Carlson's recent trip to Russia, calling him "such a d---."
He questioned why the axed network TV anchor would promote Russia the way his did in his various X videos.
"The question is why? Why is Tucker doing this? Here’s why. It’s because the old civilizational battle was communism versus capitalism. That what drove the world since World War II. Russia was the enemy then," Stewart told his viewers on the Comedy Central satire news program. "But now they think the battle is 'woke versus un-woke.' And in that fight, [Vladimir] Putin is an ally to the right. He’s their friend. Unfortunately, he is also a brutal and ruthless dictator."