Joe Rogan defends Chris Pratt from online criticism, says actor 'gets in trouble because he's Christian'
Joe Rogan is taking up for his buddy Chris Pratt, amid internet backlash against the Guardians of the Galaxy actor.
"Even Chris Pratt gets in trouble because he's Christian," Rogan said Tuesday on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. "Bro, he is the nicest f***ing guy I've ever met in my life. … They're all insane people that hate their jobs or sitting in front of the cubicle. When their boss isn't looking, they're tweeting bad things about Chris Pratt."
Pratt most recently came under attack online last month; first, for the birthday message he sent wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, which some saw as a dis to his ex-wife, Anna Faris, and then for the news that he will voice Mario in the animated Super Mario Bros. movie. Even before that, Twitter declared Pratt the "Worst Hollywood Chris," with many accounts citing his alleged views on politics and LGBTQ+ issues. (At the time, Entertainment Weekly noted that Pratt had insisted he was a man who "believes that everyone is entitled to love who they want free from the judgment of their fellow man.")
Rogan termed the online hate "a bully pile on," saying, "You see someone being vulnerable and you can snipe at them, and you don't have any repercussions and they're not in front of you, so you attack the guy."
He noted that he had spent a week with Pratt in Utah, where the two were hunting elk.
"He's genuinely friendly," Rogan said. "I've been in [a] hunting camp with him. He's nice to everybody, to the ladies that work in the kitchen…."
During that time, Pratt was just another member of the group, Rogan said.
"[He] sits at these cafeteria-style tables with everybody, you know, people from all walks of life. He's, like, super normal," the comedian and UFC commentator said. "And I've been around him multiple times like that. He's a super kind, super normal guy. He's fun, too. He's a fun guy to be around."
As Rogan sees it, Pratt is "kind of outside the lines in terms of his ideology. He's a Christian. And pretty open about it. And because of that, they attack him. It's something so simple. Like, he just believes in Jesus and … he likes to be a good person. And they're like, 'F*** him!'" he said with a laugh.
