Joe Rogan Experience #1773 - Akaash Singh

1. 0:00 – 1:12

   Staying offline, political hit jobs, and when apologies matter

   1. NANarrator0:00

      (drumming) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (heavy guitar music) Well, hey, fella. How you doing?

   3. ASAkaash Singh0:13

      Hey, buddy. How are you?

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:15

      (laughs)

   5. ASAkaash Singh0:15

      I'm good. You're good? You seem good.

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:17

      If you stay offline-

   7. ASAkaash Singh0:18

      (laughs)

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:18

      ... it's just real life.

   9. ASAkaash Singh0:20

      Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:21

       You just have to stay offline.

   11. ASAkaash Singh0:22

       And real life is people who know you-

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:24

       Yeah.

   13. ASAkaash Singh0:24

       ... and you're a great guy.

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:25

       Yeah, you, you just... life goes on-

   15. ASAkaash Singh0:27

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan0:27

       ... as normal.

   17. ASAkaash Singh0:28

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan0:28

       You know, in a lot of ways, like, all this is a relief, 'cause it's, like, just, 'cause that, that video had always been out there.

   19. ASAkaash Singh0:35

       Right.

   20. JRJoe Rogan0:35

       It's like, this is a political hit job.

   21. ASAkaash Singh0:37

       Yes.

   22. JRJoe Rogan0:37

       And so they're taking all this stuff that I've ever said that's wrong and smooshing it all together.

   23. ASAkaash Singh0:41

       Right.

   24. JRJoe Rogan0:42

       But it's good, 'cause it makes me address some shit that I really wish wasn't out there.

   25. ASAkaash Singh0:46

       And you know why I'm proud of you? 'Cause I, I think comedians have, for years, done this immature thing where it's like, "We don't apologize. We say whatever we want." You can apologize if you say some wild shit-

   26. JRJoe Rogan0:55

       (laughs)

   27. ASAkaash Singh0:55

       ... and we've all said some wild shit, and you apologize and own that it's wrong. Good for you.

   28. JRJoe Rogan1:00

       You should apologize if you regret something.

   29. ASAkaash Singh1:02

       Yes.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:02

       This idea that you should never apologize.
2. 1:12 – 2:38

   Identity, 'Blackcent' debates, and how culture shapes speech

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:12

      Like, you see Awkwafina? She apolo- it's like she defended-

   2. ASAkaash Singh1:16

      (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:16

      ... I guess she didn't apologize. She did, sort of defended the way she talks.

   4. ASAkaash Singh1:21

      Yes.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:21

      And they were saying that it was a Blackcent.

   6. ASAkaash Singh1:23

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:24

      Which is, you know... Come on, man.

   8. ASAkaash Singh1:26

      Which, uh, I probably have one of those. But it's-

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:28

      There's a lot of people who have those. It's fine.

   10. ASAkaash Singh1:28

       Can I tell you the tricky thing about not being Black or white in this country? And we're not victims, but it is tricky, because there is a way to, quote unquote, "act Black." Not that it's good or bad, but there's a Black identity and a white identity-

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:40

       Mm-hmm.

   12. ASAkaash Singh1:40

       ... in America, and the rest of us just kind of have to pick a side.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:44

       Ah.

   14. ASAkaash Singh1:44

       So there's no way for me, growing up, to act Indian. People used to ask me, "Why do you always act so Black?" And I would be like, "Buddy, if you can tell me how to act Indian, I'll do it." I swear to God, I was pre-med, I tried, didn't work out. What else can I do?

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:55

       Well, it's like hip hop culture.

   16. ASAkaash Singh1:57

       Yes.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:57

       You know? It's like sneakers and rap music and-

   18. ASAkaash Singh2:01

       And usually-

   19. JRJoe Rogan2:01

       ... a lot of young kids talk in that sort of jargon.

   20. ASAkaash Singh2:05

       Yeah, and usually we identify with that, 'cause it's like, well, we're told... I grew up in a white school, and they were like, "Hey, you're not like us." So I was like, "Okay, well, I must be like these other guys."

   21. JRJoe Rogan2:12

       Mm.

   22. ASAkaash Singh2:12

       And that's why I fell into hip hop and sneakers and all these other things.

   23. JRJoe Rogan2:15

       Well, it's just, uh, it's weird that there's, like, ways you're allowed to talk.

   24. ASAkaash Singh2:21

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan2:21

       It is weird that there's, like, if you talk in a certain way, like, you can't m- Like, here's a good one. This is a neutral one. You can't have a fake Southern accent. Like, if I moved from California to Texas, and all of a sudden, I started putting on a Southern accent-

   26. ASAkaash Singh2:35

       I know. I'd be weird.

   27. JRJoe Rogan2:35

       ... people would be like, "What the fuck are you doing, man?"

   28. ASAkaash Singh2:38

       I know, it'd be weird.

   29. JRJoe Rogan2:38

       You can't do that.

3. 2:38 – 5:26

   Austin vs. 'real Texas': independence, cities, and identity pride

   1. ASAkaash Singh2:38

      Can I ask you a question?

   2. JRJoe Rogan2:39

      Yes.

   3. ASAkaash Singh2:40

      When are you gonna move to Texas?

   4. JRJoe Rogan2:42

      Texas, Texas?

   5. ASAkaash Singh2:43

      Texas. You're not in Texas.

   6. JRJoe Rogan2:44

      What's the Texas, Texas?

   7. ASAkaash Singh2:45

      You're in, you're in Austin. Austin's great, but it's... People wear cowboy boots, ironically. This is not Texas.

   8. JRJoe Rogan2:51

      (laughs)

   9. ASAkaash Singh2:51

      You know what I mean?

   10. JRJoe Rogan2:52

       But I love it here.

   11. ASAkaash Singh2:53

       Oh, you love it, but it's just not Texas.

   12. JRJoe Rogan2:55

       But why do I have to live in Texas, Texas?

   13. ASAkaash Singh2:56

       Because you're a Texan, Joe. In your heart, I know you're a Texan.

   14. JRJoe Rogan2:59

       You think so? Interesting.

   15. ASAkaash Singh2:59

       Oh, you know where you belong? Fort Worth.

   16. JRJoe Rogan3:01

       Oh, Jesus.

   17. ASAkaash Singh3:02

       Fort Worth. I'm telling you, it's got the fucking rodeo. It's got, it is, it's Texan, but it's-

   18. JRJoe Rogan3:07

       My wife was just there.

   19. ASAkaash Singh3:09

       And she loved it, didn't she?

   20. JRJoe Rogan3:09

       She was just there and she sent me pictures. She's like, "Holy shit, is this Texas?"

   21. ASAkaash Singh3:12

       And you felt, you felt the calling?

   22. JRJoe Rogan3:13

       Uh, no, not really.

   23. ASAkaash Singh3:14

       (laughs)

   24. JRJoe Rogan3:15

       No, but I am doing an arena there, and I sold it out in, like, an hour.

   25. ASAkaash Singh3:18

       I saw that. Yeah, because they know-

   26. JRJoe Rogan3:20

       They know.

   27. ASAkaash Singh3:20

       ... our, our guy's coming home.

   28. JRJoe Rogan3:22

       Ah. (laughs)

   29. ASAkaash Singh3:23

       It's like your hudge, Joe. That's your hudge, is you going to Fort Worth.

   30. JRJoe Rogan3:27

       Texas is wild people, man. It's a, it's a interesting place to be, 'cause they're really different.
4. 5:26 – 6:06

   Cancel culture in entertainment and why comedy needs risk

   1. JRJoe Rogan5:26

      She doesn't need... But everybody feels like they do. And that world of acting is so... It's so hard to be free.

   2. ASAkaash Singh5:33

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan5:33

      Because you're always worried about your next gig. You're alwa- If you get canceled, you're fucked, 'cause if there's anything that's remotely controversial about you-

   4. ASAkaash Singh5:41

      Yes.

   5. JRJoe Rogan5:41

      ... they'll go with someone else if they're casting-

   6. ASAkaash Singh5:43

      Yes.

   7. JRJoe Rogan5:43

      ... a major film, 'cause they don't want any, like, if, ands, or buts.

   8. ASAkaash Singh5:46

      Yes. And that's the beauty of what we do, is we get to try to be our most authentic selves.

   9. JRJoe Rogan5:51

      Yeah.

   10. ASAkaash Singh5:51

       Like, a comedian, you're trying to be the funniest you can, but you have to peel away every layer to find who the real me is.

   11. JRJoe Rogan5:56

       Yeah.

   12. ASAkaash Singh5:57

       I was a completely different person 15 years ago, 'cause I wasn't... I just started comedy. I was this fake version of me.

   13. JRJoe Rogan6:02

       Right.

   14. ASAkaash Singh6:02

       And I'm not the most authentic me yet, but I'm peeling and getting there year by year.

5. 6:06 – 10:28

   Finding your comedic voice: imitation, 'babies,' and joke theft

   1. JRJoe Rogan6:06

      That's a good way to put it.... that really is what happens, right? In the beginning, you're just kinda like, you're an imitator. You're pretending to be a comedian.

   2. ASAkaash Singh6:13

      Here's what a comedian acts like.

   3. JRJoe Rogan6:14

      Yeah.

   4. ASAkaash Singh6:15

      And now-

   5. JRJoe Rogan6:15

      I remember when I first went on stage, I had a blazer on with, like, the pulled-up sleeves.

   6. ASAkaash Singh6:19

      Yeah. (laughs)

   7. JRJoe Rogan6:19

      And I had, like, a funny T-shirt on-

   8. ASAkaash Singh6:22

      Right.

   9. JRJoe Rogan6:22

      ... 'cause I thought that's how you had to dress.

   10. ASAkaash Singh6:24

       That's how, yeah. Oh, dude.

   11. JRJoe Rogan6:24

       'Cause all the guys on, like, Evening at the Improv, that's how they dressed.

   12. ASAkaash Singh6:27

       Oh, I was tech, I was Chris Rock in a small Indian body.

   13. JRJoe Rogan6:31

       (laughs)

   14. ASAkaash Singh6:31

       Like, I was walking the stage the same and squinting my eyes probably, who knows?

   15. JRJoe Rogan6:35

       (laughs)

   16. ASAkaash Singh6:36

       What up, yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan6:37

       Yeah. Well, you find yourself imitating the people that... I mean, that's, there's no shame in that, like, I always talk about that. That, like, I caught myself on stage, I guess I was, like, a year in a comedy, and I was basically imitating Richard Jeni. Like, I- I-

   18. ASAkaash Singh6:51

       Yeah. (laughs)

   19. JRJoe Rogan6:51

       ... I realized while I was doing it, I was like, "Oh, my God. I'm completely copying him."

   20. ASAkaash Singh6:55

       Right.

   21. JRJoe Rogan6:56

       Like, this is not authentic at all.

   22. ASAkaash Singh6:57

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan6:57

       This is just me doing my material in a Richard Jeni voice-

   24. ASAkaash Singh7:02

       100%.

   25. JRJoe Rogan7:02

       ... and style.

   26. ASAkaash Singh7:02

       I had to stop watching Andrew at a certain point.

   27. JRJoe Rogan7:05

       Mm-hmm.

   28. ASAkaash Singh7:05

       'Cause he was so funny so fast that I would watch him and then I would f- on stage, I'd be like, "Dude, I sound like Andrew. What the hell is going on?" And we sound a little bit similar, I'm sure, 'cause we're so close, but, like, I stopped watching him for years.

   29. JRJoe Rogan7:16

       Yeah.

   30. ASAkaash Singh7:16

       I just couldn't do it.
6. 10:28 – 13:24

   Apu, representation, and the overcorrection problem

   1. JRJoe Rogan10:28

      Did you take any sh- like, the, you have this defense of Apu which is a fucking hilarious bit.

   2. ASAkaash Singh10:33

      Thank you so much, man.

   3. JRJoe Rogan10:35

      It's very funny.

   4. ASAkaash Singh10:35

      Thank you.

   5. JRJoe Rogan10:35

      It's so dead-on, too.

   6. ASAkaash Singh10:36

      I appreciate it.

   7. JRJoe Rogan10:36

      It's, like, why is that offensive or why is that guy offensive?

   8. ASAkaash Singh10:39

      Yeah.

   9. JRJoe Rogan10:39

      But does anybody give you a hard time about that?

   10. ASAkaash Singh10:41

       I'm getting some comments.

   11. JRJoe Rogan10:42

       Yeah.

   12. ASAkaash Singh10:42

       And what I want to d- delineate I think is the word, like, differentiate?

   13. JRJoe Rogan10:46

       Delineate, yeah.

   14. ASAkaash Singh10:46

       Delineate, thank you. I'm not as smart as I should be. But what I want to differentiate is the difference between your hurt feelings and being oppressed. Your hurt feelings are valid, and if kids... Kids made fun of me for it. That's valid. That hurt. I can go talk to a therapist, but you're not fucking oppressed.

   15. JRJoe Rogan11:01

       Right.

   16. ASAkaash Singh11:01

       And that's what I thought canceling Apu was. It was, we think we're oppressed and we're not at all with that shit.

   17. JRJoe Rogan11:06

       Well, there's a lot of things going on, right? Like, first of all, there's a white guy doing the voice.

   18. ASAkaash Singh11:10

       Yeah.

   19. JRJoe Rogan11:11

       What's that dude's name?

   20. ASAkaash Singh11:12

       Henry Azaria, the fucking goat, dude. (laughs)

   21. JRJoe Rogan11:14

       Henk Azaria, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   22. ASAkaash Singh11:14

       Yeah, that's my guy, bro.

   23. JRJoe Rogan11:16

       He was on, uh, what else was he on?

   24. ASAkaash Singh11:18

       Oh, he's done accent... He's in everything.

   25. JRJoe Rogan11:19

       Been in a bunch of TV shows, right?

   26. ASAkaash Singh11:21

       He does a, he does a hilarious French accent in Along Came Polly that's so over the top and so ridiculous, but it's so funny. He's a guy that just does accents well.

   27. JRJoe Rogan11:29

       You're allowed to do French people, though.

   28. ASAkaash Singh11:31

       Yeah, it's-

   29. JRJoe Rogan11:31

       Because it's, like, they don't have extra melanin.

   30. ASAkaash Singh11:33

       They don't have extra melanin-
7. 13:24 – 25:51

   Old Hollywood casting absurdities: Charlie Chan and John Wayne as Genghis Khan

   1. JRJoe Rogan13:24

      It is funny that, like, p- people now get offended if you... Like, as an actor, you're supposed to play a part, but if you play a part that should go to, like, a marginalized group, like, you're not, like... There's some egregious examples of it. Like, have you ever seen the old... if you go back to, um... What was the, uh, what, what was the, um, the detective? That he wasn't-

   2. ASAkaash Singh13:50

      Pink Panther?

   3. JRJoe Rogan13:50

      He wasn't Chinese, but, uh, they would play a Chinese detective. It was, like, famous old black and white shit. He was a, a Chinese detective that would always, like, f- you know, solve crimes and murders and shit, but it was a white guy with, like, the worst makeup.

   4. ASAkaash Singh14:07

      Yeah, that's crazy.

   5. JRJoe Rogan14:07

      Fuck, what was his name?

   6. ASAkaash Singh14:09

      If-

   7. JRJoe Rogan14:09

      I can't, I can't believe I can't remember his name, 'cause we've talked about this before.

   8. ASAkaash Singh14:12

      If you are a living human being putting on makeup to look like a different race, that's probably past the line.

   9. JRJoe Rogan14:17

      It's so bad, too.

   10. ASAkaash Singh14:18

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan14:18

       It looks so clunky.

   12. ASAkaash Singh14:19

       I'm sure it does.

   13. JRJoe Rogan14:20

       What was it?

   14. NANarrator14:21

       Uh.

   15. JRJoe Rogan14:23

       It was, uh, from the 1950s. He was a detective. Goddamn it.

   16. ASAkaash Singh14:29

       I remember Pink Panther from the '80s, which my dad thought was hilarious, and there were some anti-Asian jokes in there for sure. The guy talking about slanted eyes and shit like that, and that's rough to rewatch. But like, it's gonna be tricky. We're gonna get some things right and some things wrong. I just think Apu was an overcorrection. That's it.

   17. JRJoe Rogan14:43

       That's it. Charlie Chan.

   18. ASAkaash Singh14:44

       Holy shit, dude. (laughs)

   19. JRJoe Rogan14:45

       Yeah. So-

   20. ASAkaash Singh14:46

       That's funny.

   21. JRJoe Rogan14:46

       ... Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan was called in to help solve baffling cases, aided by his number one son. So, this is, uh, J. Carrol Naish.

   22. ASAkaash Singh14:56

       Yeah.

   23. JRJoe Rogan14:57

       That's the guy. But let... Show me some pictures of him. 'Cause Charlie Chan, the, uh, the guy who played Charlie Chan was white as fuck.

   24. ASAkaash Singh15:08

       Yeah.

   25. JRJoe Rogan15:08

       Like, it, it doesn't even look remotely-

   26. ASAkaash Singh15:11

       But, uh-

   27. JRJoe Rogan15:11

       ... Chinese.

   28. ASAkaash Singh15:11

       But this is also 60 years ago.

   29. JRJoe Rogan15:13

       Like, and so the, uh, the reality was, like, maybe they didn't have anybody.

   30. ASAkaash Singh15:17

       They might've not had anybody. They probably more likely didn't care in the '60s when they didn't even let Black people drink from the same water fountain or go to the same schools.
8. 25:51 – 31:50

   Career paths and luck: Joe’s early TV break vs. Akaash’s industry friction

   1. JRJoe Rogan25:51

      Well, I've been doing comedy for 33 years.

   2. ASAkaash Singh25:53

      Yeah, that's true. But you also-

   3. JRJoe Rogan25:54

      It's a long ass time.

   4. ASAkaash Singh25:55

      I mean, Newsradio was what, '96 or something like that?

   5. JRJoe Rogan25:57

      '94 ... No. '90 ... Yeah. '94?

   6. ASAkaash Singh26:02

      So I, yeah, I was close.

   7. JRJoe Rogan26:03

      '94. Yeah, '94 to '99. Yeah.

   8. ASAkaash Singh26:05

      So yeah. You haven't had that moment, I assume, in a while.

   9. JRJoe Rogan26:08

      It's been a long time, man.

   10. ASAkaash Singh26:09

       Yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan26:09

       And I, and I was unreasonably successful very early.

   12. ASAkaash Singh26:12

       (laughs)

   13. JRJoe Rogan26:13

       So totally unfair.

   14. ASAkaash Singh26:14

       Yeah.

   15. JRJoe Rogan26:15

       Like, I was on television six years into comedy, I was on a network sitcom.

   16. ASAkaash Singh26:18

       How did you do that? 'Cause back then-

   17. JRJoe Rogan26:21

       White privilege.

   18. ASAkaash Singh26:21

       ... that was all the- Oh, there you go.

   19. JRJoe Rogan26:22

       Purely white privilege.

   20. ASAkaash Singh26:23

       There you go. No, I get that.

   21. JRJoe Rogan26:24

       (laughs)

   22. ASAkaash Singh26:24

       No, I ... That makes sense. There's privilege.

   23. JRJoe Rogan26:27

       That's white privilege.

   24. ASAkaash Singh26:27

       Yeah, 100%.

   25. JRJoe Rogan26:29

       Man.

   26. ASAkaash Singh26:29

       But yeah, I remember seeing you, and I was like, "Dude, this guy just had fucking longevity."

   27. JRJoe Rogan26:33

       Yeah. Well, I think, um, I just got real lucky in the beginning, that, uh, I got on MTV, and I had a really good set on MTV. I did the MTV Half-Hour Comedy Hour. And that was back in the day where they were giving people development deals, because they wanted-

   28. ASAkaash Singh26:46

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan26:46

       ... everybody to be the next Seinfeld-

   30. ASAkaash Singh26:48

       Yeah.
9. 31:50 – 56:51

   Comedy tribe, mentors, and building outside the gatekeepers (Russell, Schulz, Breaking Points)

   1. JRJoe Rogan31:50

      But your parents, did they know about Russell?

   2. ASAkaash Singh31:52

      They did after and then they were like, "Be friends with him."

   3. JRJoe Rogan31:55

      Ah. (laughs)

   4. ASAkaash Singh31:57

      Like, my mom tried really hard. Russell-

   5. JRJoe Rogan31:59

      To get you to be friends with Russell Peters.

   6. ASAkaash Singh32:01

      Yeah, my mom tried really hard and Russell's the fucking GOAT, dude. I love Russell.

   7. JRJoe Rogan32:04

      He's the best.

   8. ASAkaash Singh32:05

      He's the best guy. Um-

   9. JRJoe Rogan32:06

      You know, I wear a watch for every comedy special that Russell gave me.

   10. ASAkaash Singh32:10

       Really? What kind of watch?

   11. JRJoe Rogan32:11

       It's a Breitling.

   12. ASAkaash Singh32:12

       Oh, that's great.

   13. JRJoe Rogan32:13

       And this is, this is Russell. We were at a casino in Vegas and we're there for the fights. And Russell, I forget if he was in town, if he's in town working and we're in the same place at the same time, we're all hanging out together. But I just go, "Oh, that's a dope watch." And he just goes, "Here, it's yours."

   14. ASAkaash Singh32:31

       Unbelievable, man.

   15. JRJoe Rogan32:31

       Just took it off and gave me this-

   16. ASAkaash Singh32:33

       I've heard that story.

   17. JRJoe Rogan32:33

       ... like $5,000 watch.

   18. ASAkaash Singh32:35

       I've heard that story with multiple people.

   19. JRJoe Rogan32:36

       Yeah, dude.

   20. ASAkaash Singh32:37

       I was looking at a watch. I just said, "Hey, that's a cool watch," and he just bought it for me.

   21. JRJoe Rogan32:40

       Dude, he's the most generous, sweet, kind guy. He's so, he's so solid.

   22. ASAkaash Singh32:47

       So loyal.

   23. JRJoe Rogan32:47

       If anybody doesn't like Russell, if Russell doesn't like anybody-

   24. ASAkaash Singh32:51

       I trust their instincts.

   25. JRJoe Rogan32:52

       I ... If, if you don't ... If Russell doesn't like you, I write you off immediately.

   26. ASAkaash Singh32:56

       (laughs) Yeah.

   27. JRJoe Rogan32:57

       Because like, there's no way.

   28. ASAkaash Singh32:58

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan32:58

       Like for some people it's like, "Ah, he has problems with people. He's always starting problems." You know, he's like-

   30. ASAkaash Singh33:04

       Yeah.
10. 56:51 – 1:04:18

    Real stakes for speech: jailed comics in India and Taliban violence

    1. JRJoe Rogan56:51

       One of the things, the first thing the Taliban did when they took over Afghanistan is murder an Afghani comedian.

    2. ASAkaash Singh56:57

       Really?

    3. JRJoe Rogan56:57

       Yeah.

    4. ASAkaash Singh56:58

       Fuck.

    5. JRJoe Rogan56:59

       Yeah, there was an Afghan... See if you can find that. There was an Afghani comedian who was critical of the Taliban. One of the first things they did when the United States left is they killed that dude.

    6. ASAkaash Singh57:11

       That's wild.

    7. JRJoe Rogan57:12

       Yeah.

    8. ASAkaash Singh57:12

       He was-

    9. JRJoe Rogan57:13

       He was, like, one of the first guys they went after.

    10. ASAkaash Singh57:14

        But you know that censorship is not only Afghanistan. India jailed a Muslim comedian for allegedly making an anti-Hindu joke.

    11. JRJoe Rogan57:23

        (gasps)

    12. ASAkaash Singh57:23

        Allegedly. There's no evidence that it happened. You can look this up, Jimmy, if you're down. Munawar Faruqui. It's M-U-N-A-W-A-R, and then Faruqui is F-A-R-U-Q-U-I. He allegedly made a good joke about Saint Sita who was a Hindu goddess. There is no evidence of it whatsoever, but just the hearsay was enough that he spent a month in jail.

    13. JRJoe Rogan57:41

        Oh, my God.

    14. ASAkaash Singh57:41

        Like, active suppression of freedom of speech over there.

    15. JRJoe Rogan57:44

        So, someone claimed they heard it at a club?

    16. ASAkaash Singh57:46

        Someone claimed they heard it at a club, and then they, at a different show, like, followed him to that spot and then arrested him when he got out, and they wouldn't let him out-

    17. JRJoe Rogan57:54

        Oh, my God.

    18. ASAkaash Singh57:54

        ... for a month. And the only reason he got let out is because it became a big controversy and they relented to pressure.

    19. JRJoe Rogan58:00

        Oh, my God.

    20. ASAkaash Singh58:01

        So, that's where I'm talking to, like, the- the people here, the South Asians who are doing the woke shit about, like, Apu. It's like, "Yo, where are you on this?"

    21. JRJoe Rogan58:08

        Yeah.

    22. ASAkaash Singh58:08

        You don't have to be an activist. I'm not an activist. But if you're gonna be an activist, Apu ain't shit. Go free this guy.

    23. JRJoe Rogan58:13

        That's dangerous, though.

    24. ASAkaash Singh58:14

        Yeah.

    25. JRJoe Rogan58:14

        That's the difference, right?

    26. ASAkaash Singh58:15

        Well, yeah.

    27. JRJoe Rogan58:16

        There it is.

    28. ASAkaash Singh58:16

        I mean, um, I guarantee you I'll get death threats just for bringing this up, and people will say I don't know.

    29. JRJoe Rogan58:19

        Really?

    30. ASAkaash Singh58:19

        There's a time.com article also. Oh, it's BBC. That's fine, too.

Episode duration: 3:21:21