Joe Rogan has slammed Donald Trump over his recent comments about the death of late director Rob Reiner.
The This Is Spinal Tap filmmaker (78) and his wife Michele (68) were found dead in their Los Angeles home earlier this month. The LAPD later said that it was investigating the case as an “apparent homicide”, and outlets including TMZ and People reported that the two had suffered wounds consistent with a knife attack.
Their 32 year-old son Nick Reiner has since been arrested and charged in connection with their deaths.
Upon learning of their deaths, Trump took to Truth Social to imply a link between Reiner’s death and his criticism of the Trump Administration.
The post was condemned by a number of names in entertainment, including Jack White, who called Trump a “disgusting, vile, egomaniac loser, child”. Long-time Trump critic Jimmy Kimmel also denounced the comments on his show, remarking: “Just when you think he can’t go any lower, he somehow finds a way to do that.” Despite the backlash, Trump doubled down and defended his comments.
Now, Joe Rogan, who welcomed Trump as a guest in the days before the 2024 presidential election and formally endorsed Trump on the eve of the election, has hit back at the US President’s comments.
Speaking during a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with guest Shane Gillis, he said: “The Rob Reiner thing is not funny. When you see it with no empathy, that’s when it’s hard to like. Listen, there’s no justification for what he did that makes any sense in a compassionate society. It’s no different than people that were celebrating when Charlie Kirk got shot. It’s the same kind of thing.”
Kirk was shot in the neck and killed while speaking on stage at a university event in Utah on September 10. The death prompted numerous media controversies, with TV show South Park and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel coming under fire for their views on the conservative figure.
Rogan continued: “Imagine if [Barack] Obama tweeted something about someone after they died in this way. It just shows you how crazy it is, the way Trump thinks and talks. It’s just like, the guy got sliced up by his kid, you know? Anybody that doesn’t see that and go, ‘Fuck, man.’”
“It’s so disappointing,” Rogan concluded. “It’s like why… if you say that privately, that’s one thing, which is also crazy, but it’s so disappointing.”
Reiner was known for helming Hollywood classics such as Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), Misery (1990) and A Few Good Men (1992).
He also directed This Is Spinal Tap and Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, which was released as his last film earlier this year.