Joe Rogan Unloads on Hollywood, Says It's Full of 'Fake' People

Podcaster Joe Rogan criticized Hollywood and life in Los Angeles, describing it as an industry full of "fake" people and, ironically, political "groupthink.”

The 58-year-old host of "The Joe Rogan Experience," whose audience is 80 percent 18-34-year-old males, reflected on his early acting career in a conversation with actor and musician Luke Grimes, of Yellowstone fame.

Rogan stated he "hated being around actors, producers, and casting agents" because he felt they were disingenuous, contrasting them with the "rawest" people he prefers, such as fighters, comedians and pool players.

He admitted that his outspoken conservative views didn't mesh with left-leaning Hollywood, but that it didn’t deter him from remaining true to his beliefs, and noted that this environment "ruins comics" because they begin to "temper their material" and lose their edge as soon as they achieve television success.

"So once it happened, I mean, it was just such a huge part of my life. I was like, 'I'm not going to not do this just because it's bad for my acting career.' I'm like, 'If my acting career goes away, I don't, you know, whatever. I'm only doing this for money anyway.' So I was like, 'I'll just figure it out,'" Rogan said.

"You were the only person in L.A. with that mentality, by the way," Grimes, now starring on Yellowstone spinoff Marshals, replied. "That really served you well."

Rogan, widely credited with bringing President Donald Trump the young male vote in 2024, criticized the "progressive left-wing politics" in Hollywood, arguing that people often adopt predetermined views just to please producers and casting agents.

"I was fully ready to get out of there. I was like, ‘I got to get the f--- out of this place,’" Rogan said. "I hated it. I hated being around actors. I hated being around producers and casting agents. I was like, ‘These people are so fake.’"

Rogan explained how the bougie Hollywood crowd wasn't his jam.

"I was used to being around fighters and comedians and pool players — like the rawest, funniest outcasts of society. Those were my people. I was used to cracking jokes with friends and everybody, like, busting on each other, and everybody had a great sense of humor, just silly weirdos,” he said.

The controversial podcaster blasted the cliquey nature of Tinseltown, saying it left no room for individuality.

"All of a sudden I’m around these people that all had these predetermined things that they thought they should say, so they would say them, you know, and everybody had like- it was all groupthink. It was like, ‘Oh, this is f------ horrible,’” he admitted.

Rogan, who identifies as neither Republican nor Democrat, blasted liberal leaning Hollywood, saying, "Whenever you got a place where everybody has the same politics, that's not a good sign. Something's gone wrong, and everybody has these progressive left-wing politics regardless of whether or not any of their positions make sense. They all just sort of spit it out," he explained.

The podcaster began his career in stand-up comedy in 1988 and continues to perform regularly, often at his own club, the Comedy Mothership, in Austin, Texas.

He gained national fame in the 1990s on the sitcom NewsRadio and later as the host of the reality competition show Fear Factor from 2001 to 2006.

Despite endorsing Trump before the 2024 election, Rogan has lately voiced concerns that some supporters feel "betrayed" by the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and certain military actions, specifically regarding Iran.