UFC president Dana White and UFC commentator Joe Rogan were
recently named to the Variety 500 as two of the “most influential
business leaders shaping the global media industry.”
Both White and Rogan were mentioned in the Live Entertainment
section of the list, joining the likes of NFL commissioner Roger
Goodell, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, WWE president Nick Khan, to
name a few. The selection process for the overall list can be
viewed
here.
White’s entry
focuses on his stance on vaccinations and the promotion’s approach
to holding events during the early days of the COVID-19
pandemic.
“White declared the Ultimate Fighting Championship would never
require its fighters to be vaccinated, continuing his
controversially contrary approach to coronavirus safety,” the entry
reads. “Under the UFC’s contract with ESPN, the league was required
to stage 42 fights in 2020, and White did his best to deliver,
putting on UFC 249 in Florida in May and holding a series of fights
in the league’s Las Vegas production facilities, all without an
audience, before moving the action to Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island
(dubbed Fight Island), where several thousand fans were allowed to
watch the matches in-person. Beginning in the spring of 2021, White
began holding full-scale UFC events in the U.S., with no masks or
social distancing required.”
Rogan meanwhile, is selected primarily for the lucrative podcast
deal he signed with Spotify in 2020, as his UFC work is only
mentioned in passing. A longtime analyst for the promotion, Rogan
has cut back on his pay-per-view appearances for the UFC in recent
months, but he remains a staple at the biggest events. His entry is
as follows:
“In the wake of signing a $100 million Spotify deal in 2020, Rogan
and his podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” became a favorite target
of critics for his attacks on “woke” culture and vaccine passports,
and his controversial guests including conspiracy-loving radio host
Alex Jones,” the entry reads. “He inspired internal protests by
Spotify employees, who alleged that the podcast was transphobic. To
top that off, he ignited a fresh firestorm in September when he
admitted that he had contracted COVID-19 and was treating it with
ivermectin, a drug meant for parasitic infections, not viruses. And
none of that seemed to harm the popularity of his show. Rogan, who
has worked as a sitcom actor (“NewsRadio,” 1995-99) and
reality-series host (“Fear Factor,” 2001-06, 2011-12), continues to
perform stand-up and do color commentary for UFC matches.”