Shivani Tanna, Bhargav Acharya

(Reuters] – Spotify (NYSE) – Daniel Ek, chief executive officer of Spotify (NYSE) said Sunday that he condemns racial slurs as well as other comments made on U.S. podcaster Joe Rogan’s platform but won’t be removing Rogan.

Ek’s remarks, made in a note to staff that was seen by Reuters and sent on Tuesday, follow Rogan’s apology. This is the latest time Rogan has issued an apology after a montage footage showed him using the N-word repeatedly.

Ek claimed that Rogan removed a series of episodes from the “The Joe Rogan Experience”, podcast after discussions with the music streaming service and his reflections on the show’s content including its use of racist language.

Joe’s comments are deeply offensive and I condemn them. I want to make one point very clear – I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer,” Ek said.

Ek reiterated the position he held on Spotify’s content moderation policy and stated that the company should set clear limits around what content can be published. Ek reiterated his position on Spotify’s content moderation policies and said that the company must take action if they are violated. However, he warned that it is dangerous to cancel voices.

According to the letter which was signed by a Spotify spokesperson, the company will commit $100 million to licensing, development and marketing music and audio content of historically marginalized peoples. This is in an effort to raise creators of diverse backgrounds.

Rogan apologized and said that the montage featured him using the epithet during conversations over 12 years on his shows. He also included instances of Rogan discussing the use it by Black comedians.

Rogan, a commentator in mixed martial art and prominent vaccine skeptic has been controversial for his views regarding COVID-19 vaccines and the pandemic. He also opposes government mandates that control the virus’ spread.

Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and other prominent singer-songwriters said they had removed their Spotify music in protest against misinformation on Spotify.

Over $2 billion was lost in market value by Spotify last week due to the backlash against COVID-19 misinformation. Spotify said that any podcast featuring a discussion about COVID-19 would have a “content advisory”.