ABC president Kim Williams admitted he just “doesn’t get it” after receiving huge global backlash following his brutal critique of Joe Rogan.
Williams, 72, claimed that the world’s most popular podcaster “preys on people’s vulnerability” and told the National Press Club on Wednesday that he was “not a consumer or enthusiast” of Rogan’s work.
‘People like Mr. Rogan take advantage of people’s vulnerabilities. “They take advantage of fear,” he said.
‘They take advantage of anxiety. They take advantage of all the elements that contribute to uncertainty in society and consider the results of fantasy and conspiracy to be a normal part of the social narrative.
“Personally, I find it deeply repulsive to think of someone having such remarkable power.”
A clip of Williams’ comments was shared on social media platform X, where Rogan responded ‘LOL WUT’ in a post viewed more than 20 million times.
The owner of the platform, Elon Musk, similarly denounced the head of ABC.
“From the head of the Australian government-funded media, his Pravda,” Musk said.
Kim Williams (pictured), 72, claimed the world’s most popular podcaster “takes advantage of people’s vulnerability” and told the National Press Club on Wednesday that he was “not a consumer or enthusiast” of the work by Rogan.
Pravda is the former official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which still operates in the Russian Federation.
On Thursday morning, Williams addressed the storm of global criticism his comments had sparked.
“What fascinates me is when you say something negative about Joe Rogan, and I’ve been inundated with the most incredibly cruel responses,” Williams told Melbourne’s ABC radio host Raf Epstein.
‘I got one this morning saying I should stay in my lane and be careful, and you read it and think, “What are you telling me?”
‘Where does this super sensitivity come from? You make a comment in response to a legitimate question from a journalist.
‘You respond concisely and give an honest answer in terms of what your own perception of Mr. Rogan is.
“And suddenly I get this huge amount of people in the most aggressive way, saying that I have a warped view of the world, that I am a disgrace to our nation, that I am somehow deranged, that I am a supreme example of arrogance and disconnection with Australian society.
“I have to tell you, Raf, I don’t understand it.”
A clip of Williams’ comments was shared on social media platform X, where Rogan (pictured) responded ‘LOL WUT’ in a post viewed more than 20 million times.
Williams was asked if he thought the popularity of podcasts posed a “threat” to ABC.
Of course they are a threat to ABC. “I think they are a threat to all points of view that are contrary to theirs,” he responded.
‘If they represent the newfound mainstream, our society has deep problems and the only available answer is to support education and knowledge.
“Knowledge is the antidote to this kind of hysterical garbage.”
His main issue with Rogan was the podcaster’s skepticism toward Covid-19 vaccines.
“I mean, Joe Rogan did enormous, in my opinion, enormous damage in 2020 and 2021, when he was particularly virulent in a lot of his comments about vaccines,” Williams said.
He added: “I don’t think people have an unlimited license to say whatever they want, just because they think something is like that.”
‘We must act with higher standards. We must act according to standards that take into account the facts. We have to meet standards that really have scientific validity.
“I think Joe Rogan sometimes, not consistently, but sometimes, breaks those rules.”
Daily Mail Australia previously contacted ABC for comment.
The Joe Rogan Experience is Spotify’s most popular podcast with 14.5 million followers.
Rogan signed a $200 million deal with the streaming giant in 2020.