Shortly after condemning controversial podcaster Joe Rogan, who has been facing backlash for using racial slurs and spreading vaccine misinformation on his show, R&B singer India.Arie said she accepts the 54-year-old's apology.
"I did think he did a fine job with his apology," the singer told Don Lemon on CNN Monday night. "He said a lot of things I would want someone to say.”
The singer, however, said people who are not Black simply need to understand that they can't use the N-word.
"I stand in solidarity with the Black community because I understand why we use it," she said. "I know why we use it, but explaining that to everybody all the time is not where I want to be or where anybody should have to be. We should be able to say 'just don't.'"
As Blavity previously reported, The Joe Rogan Experience podcaster came under fire when a video compilation emerged on social media showing him using the N-word repeatedly throughout various episodes. Rogan then issued an apology on Instagram, saying this is the "most regretful and shameful thing that I've ever had to talk about publicly."
The podcaster also said the slur was "taken out of context."
"I know that to most people there's no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast and I agree with that now. I haven't said it in years," he said, according to USA Today. "It's not my word to use. I am well aware of that now, but for years I used it in that manner. I never used it to be racist because I'm not racist."
As Blavity previously reported, India.Arie chastised Spotify last week for continuing to compensate Rogan as he spewed dangerous rhetoric on the platform. Following the footsteps of other artists such as Neil Young, the "Brown Skin" singer decided to take her music off Spotify.
“I have decided to pull my music and podcast from Spotify,” she wrote, according to an Instagram post. “Neil Young opened a door that I MUST walk through. I believe in freedom of speech. However, I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons OTHER than his COVID interviews. For me it's also his language around race.”
Speaking with Lemon, India.Arie said she was already well-aware of Rogan’s “insensitive comments."
"I’ve heard many episodes of his podcast. When I learned about his language, I just tuned out on my own,” she said.
However, the Grammy award-winning singer became furious when she learned that Spotify spent $100 million to bring Rogan onto the service. The singer said it's offensive to see how the controversial podcaster is being compensated while “the vast majority of working artists are paid so low” by streaming services.
Grammy award-wining singer India Arie is removing her music from Spotify after highlighting Joe Rogan's repeated use of racist language.
BUT Arie says she's not looking to cancel Rogan.
@donlemon speaks with @indiaarie. Watch: pic.twitter.com/Ez0qlcQfpe— Don Lemon Tonight (@DonLemonTonight) February 8, 2022
"There's this big payment to this guy that a lot of people find offensive. It doesn't matter what his name is. There's a person here that a lot of people find offensive and we also find our lack of pay offensive and that creates a different conversation," she said.
The artist added that it would be a beautiful thing if Rogan were an ally to help musicians get fair compensation, but she doesn't expect that to happen fully.
