TED Talk Famous Podcaster Unpauses Spotify Boycott, Comes Back After Being Left With Few Other Options

A podcaster who became famous after a TED Talk speech given in 2010, Brené Brown, has unpaused her Joe Rogan-induced Spotify boycott.

On Jan. 29, three days after Spotify announced that they would be backing Rogan over Neil Young, Brown declared in a tweet, “I will not be releasing any podcasts until further notice.”

“To our #UnlockingUs and #DaretoLead communities, I’m sorry and I’ll let you know if and when that changes. Stay awkward, brave, and kind,” Brown said at the time.

I will not be releasing any podcasts until further notice. To our #UnlockingUs and #DaretoLead communities, I’m sorry and I’ll let you know if and when that changes.

Stay awkward, brave, and kind. ❤️👊🏼❤️

— Brené Brown (@BreneBrown) January 29, 2022

Brown then wrote a lengthy article explaining her decision and noting that she had two podcasts that were scheduled to be released last week but weren’t.

In the article, Brown said that it was a “pause” to discuss the situation with Spotify and that she was “not interested in canceling or silencing or censoring anyone, including Joe Rogan.”

On Tuesday, Brown wrote another lengthy article where she announced that the “pause” would be lifted.

“As you may or may not know, I’m under a (multi-year), exclusive contract with Spotify. Unlike some creators, I don’t have the option of pulling my work from the platform,” Brown explained.

After describing what she has “learned” since the “pause,” Brown said, “If advertisers and listeners support The Joe Rogan Experience and Spotify needs him as the cornerstone of its podcasting ambitions—that’s OK. But sharing the table with Rogan puts me in a tremendous values conflict with very few options.”

Brown continued, “As I mentioned at the start, I remain under an exclusive contract with Spotify. I’m going to make the best podcasts I can by talking about the issues that I think matter. My commitment to our community doesn’t change. In fact, we’re starting with a conversation with ACLU attorney Ben Wizner about free speech, misinformation, and Big Tech oligarchs.”

“I’m proud of our podcasts. I’m proud of the conversations, the voices we’ve amplified, the topics that we’ve addressed, and how seriously we take the responsibility. I missed the podcast and connecting with y’all—I wish there were an easier way,” Brown concluded.