Joe Rogan Apologizes For N-Word Use / India.Arie Encourages Other Artists To Join Boycott of Spotify

‘Strength, Courage, & Wisdom’ isn’t just a song of India.Arie‘s; it’s a way of life.

Just days after making headlines for announcing she was joining the growing number of artists who are pulling their music from Spotify in protest of Joe Rogan‘s podcast on the platform spewing misinformation about the global health crisis, she elaborated on her decision in a video to discuss the controversial commentator’s history of using racial slurs.

Her action kickstarted a toppling movement against the podcaster, one that led him to issue an apology over the weekend amid Spotify yanking dozens of episodes of his show off their platform.

Taking to social media, the ‘Video’ singer issued a video message to detail the true catalyst behind her exodus from Spotify. In the visual, Arie shared a damning compilation of clips where Rogan can be seen using the ‘N-word’ several times.

Speaking on the shocking footage (seen above), Arie said:

“He shouldn’t even be uttering the word. Don’t even say it, under any context. Don’t say it. That’s where I stand. I have always stood there.”

Elsewhere in the Instagram-posted vid, the GRAMMY winner – after explaining how Spotify reportedly underpays artists of color despite acknowledging that those same acts bring most of their streams – suggested the ‘strength in numbers’ approach.

“One of the hashtags I put on my written post was #WhatIfWeAllLeave? That’s what I’m trying to see if we can get to happen,” she said. “Then, we can start having a conversation and we can go from a conversation to a negotiation.”

As the post made its rounds, Joe responded with his own video message to apologize for using the derogatory term.

“I know that to most people, there’s no context where a White person is ever allowed to say that, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that,” he said before adding, “I haven’t said it in years.”

In reference to the clip of him referring to a Black neighborhood to a ‘Planet of the Apes’ movie, he said:

“I certainly would never want to offend someone for entertainment with something as stupid as racism.”

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Spotify responded to Rogan’s revealed racism by removing over 100 episodes of his polarizing podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience,’ from their platform.

As of time reported, the streamer has yet to issue an official statement on the matter.