Russell Brand Says Media 'Wanted' Joe Rogan 'to Suffer' from COVID

English comedian and actor Russell Brand is calling out the news media for its coverage of iconoclastic podcast host Joe Rogan, even claiming reporters “seemed to initially take delight that he had coronavirus” and “wanted him to suffer as a result of it.”

In the immediate aftermath of his infection with COVID-19, Rogan announced he had started taking a whole host of antibiotics and therapeutic drugs, including the anti-malaria medication ivermectin, which outlets like CNN mischaracterized only as a “livestock drug” and a “horse dewormer.”

The drug has for years been used to treat parasitic infections in human beings.

“What interests me about this story is the politicization of information,” Brand said. “Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by that as it’s something we witnessed in every single news story for a little while now. Seems there’s very little objectivity, little ability to come together in union. Everything is used as an opportunity to score points.”

The 46-year-old celebrity went on to condemn the media for its coverage of the pandemic, stating that — rather than offering such biased commentary — reporters should focus solely on the facts.

He said journalists should examine all potential treatments of COVID-19.

“That doesn’t seem to be what’s happening,” Brand said. “Much of the reporting around Joe Rogan, for example, seemed to initially take delight that he had coronavirus, kind of wanting him to suffer as a result of it, and was deeply cynical about the method of his treatment.”

This week, after recovering from his COVID-19 infection, Rogan threatened to file a lawsuit against CNN for “making [expletive] up.”

“They keep saying I’m taking horse dewormer,” Rogan said. “I literally got it from my doctor. It’s an American company. They won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for use in human beings and CNN is saying I’m taking horse dewormer. They must know that’s a lie.”

“CNN was saying I’m a distributor of misinformation,” he added.

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