Joe Rogan defends 'friend' Sanjay Gupta following heated podcast exchanges: We had an 'enjoyable conversation'

Podcast giant Joe Rogan went to bat for CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who went viral following his appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience."

Multiple exchanges from the 3-hour interview last week emerged on social media, including Rogan's grilling of Gupta over his network's coverage of his use of ivermectin, a drug that was prescribed by his doctor amid his recovery from the coronavirus but was characterized by CNN anchors as "horse dewormer," something Gupta admitted they should not have done. 

Rogan attempted to lower the temperature, insisting the sit-down was much more cordial than the clips that circulated online appeared to suggest. 

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"If you’ve only seen clips online you would think that @drsanjaygupta and I had a tense and uncomfortable encounter when we sat down for 3 hours," Rogan began his Instagram post on Saturday. "The reality is that disagreement was a very small part of what was overall a very enjoyable conversation. Sanjay is a really nice person and I like him a lot. After our time together I consider him a friend."

"People on network TV don’t have anything remotely similar to the kind of freedom I enjoy doing the podcast. For him to dive into my world and have an open form conversation with no restrictions took real courage, and I appreciate it very much," Rogan added. 

Gupta penned an essay published on CNN's website recapping his entry into the "lion's den" with Rogan, although he glossed over the host's accusations that CNN "lied" about his ivermectin use. 

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"I guess a small part of me thought I might change Joe Rogan's mind about vaccines. After this last exchange, I realized it was probably futile. His mind was made up, and there would always be plenty of misinformation out there neatly packaged to support his convictions," Gupta wrote. "Truth is though, I am still glad I did it. My three-hour-long conversation wasn't just with Rogan. If just a few of his listeners were convinced, it will have been well worth it."

The CNN medical expert himself faced significant backlash attempting to spin his interview with Rogan. 

Critics called out Gupta following his appearance with CNN's Don Lemon, who doubled down on the "horse dewormer" narrative" without facing any pushback from Gupta, who conceded to Rogan that his CNN colleagues should not have promoted such claims. 

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Gupta was also called out for his rebuke of Rogan's concerns over myocarditis among young boys who've received the COVID vaccine by repeatedly citing an Israeli study showing minimal cases among all vaccinated people, not just children.