A recent appearance by New York comedian Gianmarco Soresi on Jim Norton‘s podcast has reignited the ongoing debate around Joe Rogan, Tony Hinchcliffe, and the comedy circle that has formed around them. What makes Gianmarco’s criticism stand out is that his issues with these comedians have little to do with their political leanings and everything to do with the quality of their standup.
According to sources, Gianmarco has never hidden his disdain for the Roganverse, but his reasoning is grounded in craft rather than ideology. As he told Norton directly, “I can respect someone who I h*te if they’re a great comic. I believe in the integrity of my comedic tastes.”
For Gianmarco, if the comedy itself does not hold up, there is simply nothing left to discuss.
“I don’t respect them, and especially if I don’t respect their standup comedy, then I go, well, what do I even care? I certainly don’t respect you as a piercing journalist. So if I don’t even like your standup, then whatever.”
This distinction matters. Unlike other comedians who have taken public jabs at Rogan only to quietly make peace when career opportunities arose, Gianmarco has kept his distance without apology. He described encountering many of the very people he had publicly criticized at a Netflix event and simply choosing not to engage.
He said, “I wouldn’t talk to Theo Von or I wouldn’t talk to Joe Rogan. I don’t need to.”
The conversation took a tense turn when Norton defended Tony Hinchcliffe by pointing to his quick wit on Kill Tony rather than addressing his actual standup special. Gianmarco was direct: “You watched the whole special?”
Norton’s willingness to vouch for people based on personal loyalty rather than artistic merit was something Gianmarco pushed back on repeatedly. “Jim, you can’t just like everybody. You have too good of tastes.”
Norton’s response, that Hinchcliffe and Rogan had been good to him personally, only reinforced the point Gianmarco was making about how these relationships cloud honest critical judgment.
Beyond the comedy itself, Gianmarco also took aim at the direction of Rogan’s podcast, particularly its pattern of platforming powerful figures. “He’s having on the Sam Altmans and the Mark Zuckerbergs and some billionaire people and the Elon Musks, and I’m like this is not shaking up the paradigm,” he said. “This is bolstering the richest people there is.”
