Joe Rogan isn’t exactly known for having non-controversial opinions, which gives guests like Bill Burr plenty of opportunity to blast him after the podcast host called people who wear masks “bitches.” When it comes to the weird world of Instagram filters, however, Rogan made a fair point, which is that they promote unrealistic expectations of beauty. Given that he’s Joe Rogan, though, he decided to go over the top and also call filters “satanic,” and he (of course) went viral as a result.
In a caption for a filtered photo of himself, Rogan wrote, “If you wanna know how f*cked we are and how bizarre filters are and how distorted young women’s expectations of beauty are, I present you this picture.” He then accused the internet of “trying to rob you of your happiness” due to these filters seeking to crush “women’s self esteem through pure deception and fuckery.” And here’s the filter that prompted this reaction.
Over 500,000 views and counting, and hey, it’s easy to see why Rogan felt unsettled by seeing this image that looks nothing like him. At least he’s not trashing feminism and describing male supporters of feminism as “weasels.” Yes, this filter was meant to be exaggerated and unrealistic, but people really do filter themselves into oblivion while passing the images off as authentic, and it does mess with self-esteem. Joe Rogan isn’t solving the world’s problems here, of course, but he’s distracted enough to not be trashing masks, so no complaints on that end.