If there's one thing that gets the internet buzzing like a hive of angry bees, it's when Joe Rogan, the guy who can turn a chat about elk meat into a three-hour deep dive, takes a swing at Greta Thunberg, the teen-turned-activist phenom who's been schooling world leaders on climate doom since she was skipping school in 2018.
We're talking a clash of titans: her unfiltered urgency
against his unapologetic skepticism. It's not just petty jabs; it's a microcosm
of how we argue about the planet's future, free speech, and who gets to yell
the loudest.
I've been following this back-and-forth for years, and
with Rogan's latest roast over that Venice canal fiasco hitting just last week,
it feels like the feud's reached boil-over point. Let's unpack the history, the
heat, and what it all means because we can't look away.
The Spark: How It
All Started Back in 2019
Remember when Greta was just 16, staring down the UN with
that iconic "How dare you?" speech? The world is split in two: heroes on
one side, hoax-pushers on the other. Joe? He leaned hard into the
"other."
When TIME named her Person of the Year that December, Rogan couldn't wrap his head around it. On his podcast with comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, he straight-up asked, "Is everybody losing their f*cking mind?”
It wasn’t outright hate, he believes in climate change, after all, but he saw her
as this improbable mascot, a kid “yelling at everybody” while the mag’s made of
paper (cue his inevitable pivot to hemp and weed).
Rogan, as the everyman skeptic, and Greta as the fearless firebrand,
critics piled on too. Trump tweeted she was a “very happy young girl” who should
study, Piers Morgan called her a McDonald, munching hypocrite, but Rogan’s
voice carried weight in the bro-sphere. We were already divided, and this was
just the opener.
Key Early Moments
in The Beef:
2019 UN Speech Backlash: Greta’s rage goes viral; Rogan
questions if it’s “brainwashing” or genuine, echoing Meat Loaf’s wild claim she
was “forced” into it.
TIME Cover Roast: Rogan mocks the pick, tying it to his
anti-establishment vibe. “Why not a scientist?” he mused.
Broader Hate Wave: Forbes called out the “aggressive
response” from celebs like Rogan, seeing it as fear of a teen holding a mirror
to our inaction.
The Mixed Bag:
Rogan Gives Props (Sometimes) in the 2020s:
Fast-forward, and it's not all shade. Rogan's a
flip-flopper in the best way; he evolves,
or at least admits when he's wrong. By 2023, he was straight-up praising Greta
for clapping back at Andrew Tate.
You know, the Tate tweet where she roasted his carbon emissions with "Smalldickenergy"? Rogan called it "tweet of the year" on his show: "That's sh*t's hilarious!" A rare win for team Greta, even Williamson (his frequent podcast buddy) chuckled at the burn.
But don't get it twisted; the skepticism lingered. That
same year, chatting with Duncan Trussell, Rogan got really awkward: "It's so
bizarre to have this strange kid on the spectrum, flying around the world being
the spokesperson for climate change.
Reddit lit up, fans defended it as "just Joe being
Joe," but critics slammed the ableism, comparing it to his kid-gloves
treatment of Elon Musk (also "on the spectrum," but a free-speech
hero in Rogan's book).
He's called her a "political pawn" too,
implying she's manipulated by elites – a line that resonates with his anti-woke
crowd.
We see the pattern: Rogan respects the hustle but
questions the script. Greta? She's laser-focused, ignoring the noise to pivot
from climate to Gaza solidarity by 2025.
The Gaza Flotilla
Flop: June 2025's "Clown Show"
Greta's activism leveled up when she joined the Freedom
Flotilla in June, sailing aid to Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.
He saw red flags. On JRE #2333, he and the boys
(including Tim Dillon) tore into it: "Now she's free Palestine. She's
singing things off her phone.
Now she's at the front of a boat like George
Washington." He worried her "passion" was veering
"dangerous," especially after Israeli forces intercepted the boat –
no harm to her, but aid rerouted and deportations for the crew.
Clips went mega-viral, with Rogan mocking the
"kidnapping" headlines: "While transporting baby food, everyone
on board was kidnapped!" Hasan Piker (Left Tube king) fired back, accusing
Rogan of belittling her Palestine support.
It highlighted Rogan's Israel leanings versus Greta's
unyielding humanism – "I'm not scared of Israel. I’m scared of a world
that has seemingly lost all sense of humanity," she'd said earlier.
Gaza saga bullets:
- The Mission: Greta and pals aimed to bust the blockade with aid; it ended in a splashy (but safe) interception.
- Rogan's Take: "Flotilla clown show" fears for her safety, mixed with eye-rolls at the theatrics.
- Backlash: X exploded with #Rogan Vs Greta memes; some called him a "pothead enabler of genocide," others high-fived the "reality check."
The Breaking
Point: Venice's Green Nightmare (November 2025)
And now, the fresh wound that's got everyone talking. Last month, Greta and Scientists Rebellion dumped eco-dye into Italy's canals, Venice's Grand Canal turned a toxic lime slush to protest fossil fuels ahead of COP30. It washed out fast, but the optics? Disastrous for a sinking city already fighting overtourism.
Rogan unloaded on episode #2418 with Chris Williamson:
"To have this self-important twat pour green dye in that beautiful water,
she should go to jail for that." He pulled up pics, groaning over Venice's
"gorgeous, ancient" vibe – those wood-pile foundations that
"harden in water," the calming arches.
He flooded out during a stay there last summer. "How
much attention do you need, lady? Okay, stop." Williamson dropped the
"Swedish doom goblin" bomb from Sky News Australia, and they cracked
up, but Rogan doubled down: "It's disgusting, ruining it for thousands."
Fine was a slap-on-the-wrist $170; he wanted jail time.
X went feral, 65K+ views on the clip alone. One user
nailed the irony: "Rogan telling Greta to stop seeking attention? Peak
hypocrisy from the mic emperor." Defenders? "Finally, someone calls
out the vandalism."
Venice verdict in
bullets:
- The Stunt: Green dye in 10 Italian cities; Venice's canals stole the show for sheer drama.
- Rogan's Rage: "Self-important twat" + jail call; doubts the "safe" dye claim: "Anything that green can't be good."
- Aftermath: Fines pending (€50K max), mayor fuming; Greta tweeted it's "what inaction looks like."
Why This Feud
Fires Us Up (And What It Says About Us)
Look, we're all Greta in our angsty moments screaming into the void because the world's
on fire (literally). And Rogan? He's with us at the BBQ, poking holes because
"hold up, is this real?"
Their "vs" isn't personal; it's a proxy for the
exhaustion of endless crises. She's evolved from solo striker to Gaza sailor;
he's hosted climate skeptics like Lindzen and Happer, pushing nukes over panic.
Imagine her on his show, fireworks, right? (Petition starts now.)
But here's the rub: This distracts from fixes. Venice is drowning; Gaza is starving; carbon's still cooking us. Rogan's "stop" plea? It's our collective fatigue talking. Greta's dye job? Desperate poetry. We need both the rant and the rally to actually move.
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