Prince Harry has dismissed Joe Rogan's remarks questioning the need for universal Covid-19 jabs, speaking after a vaccine-promoting address at the home of the next Super Bowl to tell the UFC host that he has a "responsibility".
The British royal appeared at a concert with the aim of raising money to vaccinate the world, taking to the 100,000-capacity SoFi Stadium, which is the home of NFL teams the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers and the scheduled venue for the 2022 Super Bowl, to spearhead the cause.
Hugely-followed Rogan courted controversy last month when he appeared to suggest that young, healthy people did not need to be vaccinated, and the Duke was in no mood to fan the flames when he was asked about the comments.
"I think the issue is in today's world, with misinformation just endemic, is you've got to be careful about what comes out of your mouth when it comes to that, because news doesn't exist in just news any more," he told Armchair Experts, discussing how Rogan had admitted that his level of knowledge was incomparable to Anthony Fauci, president Joe Biden's chief medical advisor.
"It's splattered all over the place so people are, like, 'listen to Joe Rogan. "[If he's saying] 'you're right, don't listen to me,' – well, don't say that. Just stay out of it. If you have a platform, with a platform comes responsibility."
While some listeners were impressed by the Duke's remarks and saw it as evidence that he is living a more "normal" life as a result of stepping back from royal duties and moving to the US with partner Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, others were less convinced.
"You’ve got to be kidding," said one critic. "Everyone is allowed to have an opinion. What a mouse this lad is."
Pop singer Jennifer Lopez and rock star Dave Grohl were among the other headliners at the event.
"This pandemic will not end unless we act collectively, with a commitment to our shared humanity," the Duke told the receptive crowd of frontline workers.
"The vaccine must be distributed to everyone, everywhere. The mission in front of us is one we cannot afford to fail at."
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