During a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience featuring comedian Jim Breuer, podcast host Joe Rogan opened up about his complicated history with fellow comic Marc Maron. While he revealed the two have recently reconciled, Rogan still managed to talk about the past tension around jealousy and mindset.
“I actually made up with Marc Maron the other day,” Rogan said, explaining that he reached out to inform Maron about something important. According to Rogan, the exchange turned unexpectedly heartfelt. “He sent me a very sincere message of thank you and then I sent him a message back that was sincere… I said, ‘Look, I’m not your enemy. Despite our differences, I’m sure if we saw each other within a few minutes, we’d be laughing and smiling.’”
Rogan admitted they had only “a few bad interactions” over the years, adding that Maron had been “pretty honest” about possibly being stuck in his own head during those moments.
He said: “I had only a few bad interactions with him and he was pretty honest about how, you know, maybe it’s his own mind and… but it was a very sincere interaction which made me happy. It’s not good to have enemies, man.”
Rogan also used the opportunity to reflect on how success and the lack of it can shift someone’s energy. He told Jim, “Back then you made a whole video about it.”
Jim acknowledged, referring to past conflicts. “As we went on, I actually was so happy for him once he got WTF because you saw like, wow, he found his niche.”
Rogan agreed, saying: “He became friendly. He’s easy to be around. His podcast was kil ling it and then he had his show. He was doing great. He was way easier to hang around with. Because all the angsts had been removed and he’d become a made man. Become legit.”
But Rogan suggested that shifting fortunes can alter perspective just as quickly.
“It’s very easy for me to say, ‘Oh, just relax and who cares? Everybody should be happy that all these people are doing well,’” Rogan said. “But if you’re not doing well, that jealousy is a natural thing.”
He didn’t exempt himself from that feeling either. “I’ve experienced it before… even like eight, nine years ago… there’s moments where someone’s really kill ing it. You’re like, oh, what the f***.”
However, Rogan was clear about where he ultimately stands on that mindset. He stated, “I realized in my head like, god, that’s a crappy way of thinking. Don’t hold on to that.”
Later in the conversation, he doubled down: He stated: “I understand those feelings of anger and those feeling of jealousy, of resentment. It is absolutely normal. But it is a crappy way to think and I’ve thought those ways. I’ve had crappy thinking in my life… I understand it. It’s normal. But what these people need to hear that I needed to learn myself is that not only does not help you, it hurts you.”
Drawing from his martial arts background, Rogan explained that being surrounded by people better than you is what forces growth. “You need those people that make you feel uncomfortable. They make you feel like, f***, I gotta go to work.”
According to him, that discomfort is productive, resentment is not. He said: “But the same exact experience can instead be inspiring to you and that will help you and you’re going to be uncomfortable with comparing yourself to someone who’s better than you. But that uncomfortable feeling is what leads to growth. It’s really important. It’s good. It’s good for you. But what’s not good for you is to try to dismiss that person and s**t on that person.”
He also talked about art in general, arguing that disliking someone’s style doesn’t justify hostility. “Even if someone’s doing something that I don’t like… so what? I don’t care. There’s a lot of music.”
Comparing it to his teenage daughters’ music taste, he added: “It’s like everybody has a thing that you’re into and everybody has a different style. So if someone’s doing something that you don’t enjoy, you don’t have to h*te them. It doesn’t mean that’s not beneficial to you. It doesn’t help you at all.”
