Sunny Hostin made it clear Thursday that she was not interested in podcaster Joe Rogan’s opinions on COVID-19, and she didn’t get why Dr. Sanjay Gupta would discuss it with him either.
Hostin joined her cohosts Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sherri Shepherd and Ana Navarro on ABC’s “The View,” and the conversation turned to Gupta and his decision to have a serious conversation with Rogan about COVID-19, vaccines and therapeutics. (RELATED: ‘I Wasn’t Convinced’: Sunny Hostin Says Capitol Hill Abortion Testimonies Left Her ‘Cringing’)
“I walked into the lion’s den,” Gupta said of the experience, noting that he had been advised to turn down the opportunity. “Ultimately I’m glad I did it.”
I walked into the lion’s den and spoke with with @joerogan on his podcast for more than 3 hours — vaccines, ivermectin, and much more. Friends tried to get me to turn down his invite, but ultimately I’m glad I did it. https://t.co/kwjecaWNBb
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) October 14, 2021
While Shepherd and Navarro in particular argued that it was a smart move – if only because Gupta had the chance to reach even a small portion of Rogan’s vast fanbase – Hostin did not appear convinced.
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“Let’s listen to a radio talk show host instead of a scientist and doctor,” Behar said, rolling her eyes. “Clearly he didn’t change Joe Rogan’s mind. You think an interview like that where he goes on his turf and speaks to Rogan’s constituency, do you think that would work?”
Navarro pointed out that Rogan’s audience numbered in the hundreds of millions, arguing that if Gupta even reached a small percentage of them it could still be significant.
“A lot of times I feel people go to outlets where they don’t agree to fight and become clickbait. I think people come to this show to get more viewers or sell more books,” Navarro continued. “They had a civil conversation that lasted three hours and I think it was very honest and I think it’s important to get insight into what some of these people that we disagree with on the vaxxes are thinking.”
Shepherd noted that, because of her time doing stand-up comedy, she knew Rogan pretty well.
“He is a very smart man and 200 million listeners, there’s a lot of people feel the way Joe Rogan does,” Shepherd continued. “I love that Sanjay Gupta went on there. If you don’t go on there and just talk to somebody you disagree with then we would never have any kind of discourse.”
“I love Sanjay. We worked together and used to do these medical/legal segments on CNN. Sanjay is a brilliant man,” Hostin replied, noting that Gupta’s stated goal had been to better understand Rogan’s thinking on COVID and vaccines. “I’m not so interested in understanding the Trump mind. I’m not so interested in learning the anti-vax mind because I’m not interested in understanding crazy. I don’t think you can make sense of crazy.”
Rogan announced that he contracted COVID-19 in early September and credited “modern medicine” for his recovery. “We immediately threw the kitchen sink at it, all kinds of meds, monoclonal antibodies, Ivermectin, z-pack, prednisone, everything, and I also got an NED drip and a vitamin drip and I did that three days in a row,” Rogan said. “I really only had one bad day.”
Rogan was very critical of CNN’s coverage of his illness and considered suing the outlet for claiming he used “horse dewormer.” Rogan said he was given Ivermectin by a doctor.