TED NUGENT: NEIL YOUNG Is 'A Complete Punk' Who Is Saying 'Stupid' Things

Ted Nugent has once again blasted Neil Young for pulling his music from Spotify in protest of Joe Rogan.

Young demanded that his catalog be removed from Spotify in response to "fake information about vaccines" being "spread" on the platform via Rogan's podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience". Young delivered an ultimatum, adding, "They can have Rogan or Young. Not both." Spotify announced a few days later that it would pull Young's music catalog from its platform.

Nugent weighed in on Young's position during yesterday's (Friday, February 11) "Friday Free For All" edition of "The Nightly Nuge", a news-style clip in which Ted offers his take on the news of our world every night "in a concise, fiery fashion that [is] totally Ted." He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, Neil Young, God bless him. I'm sure that there's many people that appreciate Neil Young's creativity and his talents and his creation of wonderful music for those people who love that kind of music. I'm not a big fan. I happen to know that he's got a lot of soul… But now that I've praised him for all the positives, the guy is a complete punk.

"If you've done that much mind-altering chemicals throughout your life, then you can proudly claim in one moment that you should be rocking in the free world but then in the next moment witness all the evidence supporting everything that Joe Rogan's been saying, that I've been saying, the truth, logic and common sense, the indisputable evidence to support it, and then claim that we're guilty of misinformation when actually the stoner birdbrain punk, he delivers misinformation," he continued.

"So this is a funny moment because he made an ultimatum to Spotify — whatever that big tech is — and he said, 'If you don't take Joe Rogan off Spotify, then you have to take my music off Spotify.' That's a pretty decision, Neil. Thanks for making it so simple, because Neil Young on Spotify — adios, mofo. Now Joni Mitchell's doing the same thing, and, again, God bless her. I can't stand folk music, but I know there are a lot of people that love that kind of stuff and I salute them and thank them. And I appreciate any music that makes people happy and fortifies their American Dream, or whatever dream they might have. Is there another dream? I don't think so. The Mexican Dream is to get the hell out and go to America."

Ted went on to claim that Young and Mitchell "are saying things that are just stupid. And again, with all due respect… I'm sure Joni… I've seen Joni Mitchell do interviews; she's a smart gal, and her musical dreams she literally has perfected. And on behalf of those people that love that kind of music, I can only salute them and celebrate the happiness that Joni Mitchell and Neil Young's music brought them."

In the days after Neil had his music from Spotify removed, a handful of notable artists have pulled their music from the streaming giant, blaming the platform for spreading false information about coronavirus via Rogan's podcast.

Neil's wife and acclaimed actress Daryl Hannah took to Twitter to express criticism for Rogan's podcast and the eventual choice Spotify has made regarding Neil's ultimatum.

Daryl wrote: "sad to see some confuse censorship & free speech with the choice a private company has in deciding what they profit from a podcaster is free to say whatever they want Just as Neil is free to NOT have his music on a platform that makes $$$ of disinformation that harms folks".

In response, Rogan promised to "do my best, in the future, to balance things out," while Spotify said it would add content advisories to podcast episodes with information about COVID-19. In an almost 10-minute-long Instagram video, Rogan said he would "try harder to get people with differing opinions on" on his show, which averages 11 million listeners per episode.

"The Joe Rogan Experience" became a Spotify exclusive in 2020, when Rogan signed a multi-year exclusive licensing deal with the streaming giant.

Spotify's company's chief executive Daniel Ek has defended Rogan in the past, including after an episode that featured the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in 2020.

"We want creators to create," Ek told The Financial Times at the time. "It's what they do best. We're not looking to play a role in what they should say."