This pisses me off: According to Joe Rogan, after we had done our podcast, both Jim Norton and Kurt Metzger called him to say what I said wasn’t true (it’s cued up on the above link).

Here’s the truth:

JIM NORTON

I was told Jim Norton bumped me from an O&A appearance because he was doing a Vice show and didn’t want bad blood. I told him to fuck off and he called me to explain. His contention was it was because he didn’t want to be “unprepared” if I said something negative about my old company. I insisted that makes no sense and listed reasons such as…

-You could have called me in advance to get the basics of the story.

-You are constantly unprepared for guests. Since when do you need to be an expert on a guest’s story?

-It would make good radio to explain any conflict surrounding my appearance.

This list goes on. Jim swore up and down it wasn’t because he was scared to offend his new bosses and it was all about “being prepared.” I called bullshit on that again and again until it got to the point where the argument was me trying to figure out if he really believed his side of the argument. We agree to disagree at the end and I thanked him for bothering to call a stranger about something long passed.

That is 100% true.

For the record, I am a big fan of Jim Norton. I love watching his comedy specials and enjoyed hearing him on O&A. I don’t have a problem with being bumped. I don’t have the right to be on any show. I don’t know what details Jim called Joe to clear up but if it denies any of the above, it’s a lie.

–

KURT METZGER

After I was scheduled to be on Race Wars, Kurt contacted me and said something like, “What’s your beef with Opie?” Anthony actually Tweeted out a screen grab of the conversation (we also went into detail on both these beefs when I eventually did the Race Wars show at Stand Up NY).

Kurt’s point made sense. He said it was Opie’s network and if he doesn’t want someone there, he shouldn’t have someone there. He also said he would clear guests with Opie if he felt they might be a problem.

Sherrod had a take that was much more like Jim Norton’s. He told me he has his own beefs in life and doesn’t need to be getting into other people’s beefs. The angle he took was that he heard about this at the last minute and didn’t want me to come on without knowing exactly what was going on. If he didn’t use the word “unprepared,” he came damn close. As with Jim, I said if he wanted a quick overview on the phone, he could have called me when I was on my way to the studio. I get you’d want to know if I had threatened Opie’s life or said something about his kids. I wouldn’t have a stalker on the Anthony Cumia network if lines like that had been crossed. Sherrod never called Joe Rogan so he shouldn’t be included in this but our conversation is the only thing I could see Kurt having a problem with.

I love Kurt and Sherrod. I am grateful they found a way to get me on despite it being a bad scene with their boss (we just did it at a different studio). I disagreed with Sherrod on his reasoning the exact same way I disagreed with Jim (I mentioned this to Sherrod and he said something like, “Don’t be comparing our shit to other people’s shit”).

I have no problem with either of them screening guests. I just don’t like being called a liar because I’m very diligent about being 100% honest about everything. I didn’t say anything remotely untrue on the Joe Rogan Experience so if someone called to accuse me of lying, they’re lying.

-GAVIN McINNES

PS: As Joe said at the beginning, Bailey Jay does have a problem with being called he. When I told “her” that I’d be calling him “he,” Jay said, “I would be uncomfortable being referred to as male. It would hurt my feelings.”