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UFC commentator and podcast host Joe Rogan has taken aim at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Speaking during an interview, he criticized the organization for being a scam when it comes to money, how they’re robbing athletes, and added notes about transexuals, drag queens, and a wacky gay dude.

Joe Rogan Talks 2024 Paris Olympic Games

The comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan, who has worked alongside the UFC for decades, had some things to say about the 2024 Summer Olympics, which are being hosted in Paris, France. Rogan calls out the Olympics for being a financial scam and is ripping off the athletes. He explains how all the money goes to the organizers rather than the athletes.

“The Olympics is a giant scam,” Joe Rogan explained on his podcast, “There are two things going on simultaneously, okay? You have the best athletes in the world participating in their disciplines. And then on top of that, you have enormous amounts of money being made, and none of it’s going to the athletes. It is a giant scam.” [H/t MMANews]

“The money they make is astronomical,” he continued, “The Olympics makes billions and billions in television revenue and advertising revenue. And they don’t give any of it to the athletes.”

Joe Rogan is employed by the UFC, a billion-dollar company that has been continuously criticized for poor fighter pay and has a class action lawsuit against it. When it comes to the UFC and fighter pay his tone is slightly different. Rogan, on UFC fighter pay with Luke Thomas, explains, “Do you factor in the overhead? Do you factor in all the employees? Do you factor in the machine that’s behind the UFC? The UFC has to be profitable.”

Discussing UFC fighter pay Joe Rogan said, “I think you should get the most amount of money you can possibly get. But it’s also a business and I think that if they are struggling as much as I think they are – I don’t talk finances with them but I know that WME, the people who own it, are hurting, bad. They’re laying people off. Most businesses are hurting.” [H/t MMAFighting]

Economics of the Olympics

When it comes to the Olympics, Joe Rogan likely has a point especially when it comes to the economics of hosting the Olympic games. Simply, the numbers don’t add up as a benefit for anyone involved, not just the athletes but also the host cities.

“You have several European cities dropping their bids,” economist Andrew Zimbalist explained in an interview with the New York Times, “Because of a plebiscite or their residents voted, “No, we don’t want to do this.” They’re looking at the balance sheet, which is overwhelmingly negative. They’re looking at the social and environmental disruption, which is extremely problematic.” He argues that cities that host the Olympics stand to lose tens of billions of dollars.

Andrew Zimbalist outlines how the Olympics keep the vast amount of revenue, nearly eighty percent, for themselves. The cities and athletes don’t benefit, but the real winners are development companies. Some cities, with development costs, stand to lose nearly 30 billion dollars because the income for hosting the Olympic games simply isn’t there.

Drag Queen and Transexuals

For Joe Rogan, it’s not just about the money. He also brought up transexuals and drag queens, which is a topic he loves to discuss. When discussing money issues regarding a sporting event, Rogan finds a way to talk about LGBTQ people. During the opening ceremonies, the Olympics were criticized for some controversial images. Rogan was sensitive about the topic and was clearly triggered by the opening ceremony.

“The ridiculous opening ceremony,” Rogan added, “Where you got a bunch of drag queens doing the last supper and all that s*** … Nobody understands it because it’s not made by athletes … These are the crazy people who are putting on the last supper with transexuals. That’s what they’re doing … It’s not the place for it. They’re pushing this weird agenda in this place where people are already getting f***** over … They let some wacky gay dude get ahold of the reins and he decided to do this.”

“There’s not billions of people all across the world tuning in,” he said, “Just to see a bunch of transexuals pretend to be Jesus and the disciples.” Khalil Rountree Jr. and Joe Rogan briefly discuss Hitler and the Nazis before finding a way back to the topic.

“I like some of the symbolism of the Olympics,” economist Andrew Zimbalist said, “I’m not sure how penetrating it is, but I like the idea that you bring the world’s best athletes together from 205 countries, and you have them compete against each other on the playing field rather than on the battlefield. That resonates for me. I like it. Now, how far does that take us? I don’t think very far. It’s very expensive symbolism.”