Joe Rogan has built a massive name for himself by hosting The Joe Rogan Experience, welcoming some truly fascinating guests along the way. But along with the praise, the UFC color commentator often finds himself facing backlash for his controversial takes. This time, the 58-year-old podcaster drew pushback from a doctor over his comments on the respiratory disease measles.

Back in February, Rogan gave a controversial take regarding measles on his podcast, saying, “an infection that everyone got when I was a kid, and what happened was you’d get sick for a few days, and then you’d be immune for life. And they’re making it look like everyone’s dying from measles”. During the podcast, he also claimed that those who died from the disease were already compromised and went on to compare it to COVID-19. While the comments are not new, Dr. David Pakman recently revisited the take and pushed back on Rogan’s perspective. 

Dr. David Pakman Clarifies a Key Point on Measles

“Measles Vaccine was licensed in 1963, and by 1967, the number of people getting measles was down more than 90%. We have the chart on the screen.” David Pakman said on his YouTube video. “Measles was well on its way to being eliminated when Rogan was born. When Rogan was 5, we had only 32000 cases. “He added. 

As the doctor-YouTuber, who has a subscriber base of 3.42 million, pointed out in his presentation, there was a clear and substantial dip in measles cases. After highlighting those statistics, Dr. Pakman went on to explain that a serious disease like measles did not disappear on its own. Instead, the vaccine for the respiratory illness was what truly made the difference. 

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“The reason that Rogan recollects that measles was no big deal when he was 5,10,15 years old, it’s because the Vaccine came out four years before he was born, and it obliterated measles by the time he was growing up. 95% people that would’ve gotten measles were no longer getting it, because of the vaccines.” Dr. Pakman further added.  

Now, the doctor didn’t stop after debunking Joe Rogan’s claim. He went to figure out what may have actually caused this confusion in the first place.   

Dr. Pakman believes the podcaster mixed up measles with another disease

While Dr. Pakman pointed out the shortcomings in the podcaster’s take, he also suggested that the comments may have stemmed from a misunderstanding. According to the doctor, the UFC color commentator may have confused measles with chickenpox, which he explained was a common illness in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s.

“The other possibility is that Rogan is confused between measles and chicken pox. I’m just not sure. Chicken pox was really common in the 1970s and 1980s, and it was often treated very casually. People would even do chickenpox parties. You’d get one kid with chicken pox, bring a bunch of kids together, and they would all get it. Then they’d all recover with relatively no major issues. Maybe Rogan is confused between measles and chicken pox.” Dr. Pakman added in his YouTube video   

Whether Joe Rogan actually mistook measles for chickenpox or another illness, or if his take was truly based on the respiratory disease itself, remains unclear. We may only find out if the podcaster-comedian chooses to address the backlash. Until then, what do you think is the case? Let us know in the comments section below.