"In America, you gotta work" - Joe Rogan reacts to US secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg taking paternity leave

Joe Rogan is no stranger to controversy and has been known to make statements that draw flak from the general public. The 54-year-old recently slammed Pete Buttigieg, the US secretary of transportation, for opting to take paternity leave.

Rogan recently had fellow comedian Bridget Phetasy on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. The two were talking about the shipping delays that were occurring in the United States due to port congestion in California, among other things.

The conversation then steered towards Buttigieg, who took paternity leave after adopting twins with his husband Chasten.

Rogan questioned whether men should be allowed to take paternity leave as they are not the ones giving birth to a child.

"It's crazy that Pete Buttigieg, during this whole time, is on paternity leave... you just wanna go, 'Listen man. I understand it's hard to raise a child but isn’t that [paternity leave] supposed to be for the person who gave birth?'... This idea that both parents should get maternity and paternity leave at the same time is a little weird."

When Phetasy argued back, saying that the concept of both parents taking leave was prevalent in European countries, Rogan said:

"That's great. You wanna live in Germany? Because in America you gotta work... we're not in Europe and for America, this is a new concept. When someone in government, who is a man, who didn't give birth and there is two of them and they both are off work and they get free money or what happens?"

You can listen to the entire episode of the Joe Rogan Podcast with Bridget Phetasy here.

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Joe Rogan recently landed himself in controversy for using ivermectin to treat COVID-19

Earlier this year, Joe Rogan released a video on Instagram that revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19. The 54-year-old said that he was using ivermectin, a medicine apparently used to treat heartworms in horses, as part of his treatment for the virus.

Rogan later gave an explanation on his podcast, saying he was advised by doctors to take the medicine.

"Well I had this guy on, Dr. Pierre Kory... he's from Frontline Covid Critical Care Workers. He's a well-established doctor. Treated thousands of people with Covid. Early on in the pandemic, they found some good efficacy with ivermectin... He's not the only doctor that told me to take it. Multiple doctors told me to take it."