In a candid moment during his conversation with acclaimed actor Ethan Hawke on The Joe Rogan Experience, podcast host Joe Rogan delivered a scathing critique of professional critics, arguing that many enter the field not out of passion or talent, but due to a lack of creative ability.
The discussion emerged organically as Rogan and Hawke explored the impact of negative commentary on artists and performers. Rogan didn’t mince words when sharing his perspective on the critical establishment: “Critics in particular, I do not think they want to be critics. And I feel like most people who become critics become critics because they don’t have anything to contribute. They’re not great writers.”
Rogan recounted a specific incident from the early days of “Fear Factor,” when a critic questioned whether America needed a show about facing fear in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Rogan found this criticism not only misguided but emblematic of a larger problem with professional critics who, in his view, manufacture controversy to justify their existence.
The comedian and commentator later confronted this same critic at an NBC event, directly challenging him about the hurt caused by his words. “You say horrible hurtful things about all these different people and the course of their career is dependent upon your opinions to a certain extent,” Rogan told the critic, adding that critics shape public narratives about performers without understanding the full weight of their words.
What particularly troubles Rogan is the perceived double standard in how society treats ambition. He noted the irony that openly pursuing financial success is considered acceptable, while expressing a desire to create meaningful, beautiful art is often dismissed as pretentious. This observation resonated with Hawke, who has spent decades navigating similar judgments in Hollywood.
Rogan emphasized that criticism from fellow creators—such as Quentin Tarantino‘s recent commentary about actor Paul Dano—carries different weight than reviews from professional critics because it comes from someone actively engaged in the craft.
For Rogan, the distinction is clear: criticism from someone with firsthand experience creating art has legitimacy that purely analytical criticism lacks. Those who have never attempted to build something themselves lack the proper context to tear down the work of others, particularly when careers and livelihoods hang in the balance.