Joe Rogan has forced CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr Sanjay Gupta, to admit the network was wrong to call the podcaster's COVID-19 treatment 'horse dewormer.'
Joe Rogan invited Dr Gupta on Wednesday's (13th October) episode of The Joe Rogan Experience to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine, among other topics. During the episode, Rogan grilled him about CNN referring to a drug called Ivermectin, which he took after testing positive for COVID-19, 'horse dewormer' and suggested it was defamatory.
Related: Joe Rogan Is Sick Of People Mocking Him For Taking Horse Medication
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"By the way, I'm glad you're better," Gupta said.
"Thank you," Rogan responded. "You're probably the only one at CNN who's glad... The rest of them are all lying about me taking horse medication."
"That bothered you," Gupta grinned.
"It should bother you too," Rogan shot back. "They're lying at your network about people taking human drugs versus drugs for veterinary.
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"Calling it a 'horse dewormer' is not the most flattering thing, I get that," Gupta said.
"It's a lie," Rogan said. "It's a lie on a news network... and it's a lie that they're conscious of. It's not a mistake. They're unfavourably framing it as veterinary medicine."
"Why would they lie and say that's horse dewormer?" Rogan pressed. "I can afford people medicine motherf****r. It's ridiculous! It's just a lie! Don't you think that a lie like that is dangerous on a news network when you know that they know they're lying?... Do you think that that's a problem that your news network lies?"
"What did they say?" Gupta asked.
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"Dude they lied and said I was taking horse dewormer. First of all, it was prescribed to me by a doctor," said Rogan.
The CNN correspondent then agreed that it "shouldn't be called" horse dewormer.
"Does it bother you that the network you work for out and out lied, just outright lied about me taking horse dewormer," Rogan grilled Gupta.
"They shouldn't have said that," Gupta admitted.
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"Why did they do that?" Rogan asked.
"I don't know," Gupta responded.
"You didn't ask? You're the medical guy over there!" Rogan exclaimed.
"I didn't ask, I should've asked before coming on this podcast."
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A little later on, an uncomfortable Gupta said: "It can be used for humans! I get it."
"Not just could be used for humans- is often used for humans along with all the other drugs that I took. All human drugs," the podcast host said. "They know it's a human drug and they lied. It's defamatory."
"Yeah, they shouldn't have done that," Gupta repeated. "I don't know if it's defamatory."
"I bet it is," Rogan asserted. "It's a lie."
Fact check: What is Ivermectin and what is it used for?
Ivermectin is a drug which can be used to "treat people with intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis, two conditions caused by parasitic worms," the FDA said.
It can also be used to treat worms and parasites in animals but the FDA has warned that the human version of the medicine is different to the one for animals and shouldn't be taken by humans.
Can Ivermectin be used to treat COVID-19?
The FDA has urged people not to use Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 and they haven't approved the drug for this use.
Joe Rogan said he was prescribed Ivermectin by his doctor to treat his COVID-19 symptoms and the FDA understands that lots of people have been taking the drug to treat coronavirus. In a statement it said:
"The FDA has not authorised or approved Ivermectin for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals. Ivermectin is approved for human use to treat infections caused by some parasitic worms and head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.
"Currently available data do not show ivermectin is effective against COVID-19. Clinical trials assessing Ivermectin tablets for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in people are ongoing."
"There's a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that it's okay to take large doses of Ivermectin. It is not okay," citing that it can cause medical complications and even result in hospitalisation.
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/PowerfulJRE