CNN contributor Mary Katharine Ham sides with Joe Rogan and slams network for 'horsesh**, dishonest' claim he took horse-dewormer after $100M Spotify star said they 'lied' about his prescribed Ivermectin
One of CNN's political commentator's, Mary Katherine Ham, has spoken out against her employer and defended podcast presenter Joe Rogan who earlier this week accused the network of 'lying' about his use of ivermectin when he had coronavirus.
In a clip from Wednesday's The Joe Rogan Experience that went viral, Rogan grilled CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the broadcaster's coverage of his use of the drug after he was diagnosed with Covid-19, which he claims he recovered from in five days.
After a tense back-and-forth, Gupta eventually agreed that the anti-parasite drug, which was prescribed to Rogan by a doctor, should never have been described by CNN as a horse de-wormer.
The argument appeared to rumble on Friday when Ham tweeted in support of Rogan's accusation, branding the reporting 'horses***' - although she did not call out the network by name.
Her tweet came after podcaster Joe Rogan slammed CNN's chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta for 'lying' about his course of treatment
Ham continued to criticize CNN calling their description of ivermectin as 'horse dewormer' as 'horses***'
'Rogan is right that it's dishonest to say he took horse dewormer when he did not,' Ham tweeted.
'It was irresistible to dunk on him for a lot of people, so they went with that instead of sticking to 'hey, this anti-parasitic isn't recommended for COVID treatment,' which would've been credible.'
Ham continued as she responded to a follow up tweet by Federalist political editor John Daniel Davidson, who wrote: 'Well, it WAS recommended by Rogan's doctor, so that also wouldn't be credible. And it's not like Rogan's doc is the only one in the country recommending Ivermectin off-label. The MOST they could have said, credibly, is that the CDC doesn't recommend it.'
Ham responded: 'Agreed, I'm not looking to explicate the entire Ivermectin fight in one tweet. That was shorthand for a pronouncement that would have been more suitable than 'he's taking horse dewormer,' which is just straight, well, horses---.'
'I'm happy for folks to take it safely & half expect there may end up being better data later on.,' Ham went on.
CNN anchor Don Lemon (pictured left) has denied the network lied about Joe Rogan's Covid-19 treatment after it said that the popular podcast host took 'horse dewormer' in a discussion with CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta (right) who appeared on the 'The Joe Rogan Experience' on Wednesday
Gupta has since faced further backlash since Rogan's podcast whilst speaking to his colleague Don Lemon, who repeated the 'horse dewormer' narrative and denying the network 'lied'.
'[Rogan] did say something about ivermectin that I think wasn't actually correct about CNN and lying,' Lemon began in reference to the podcast.
'Ivermectin is a drug that is commonly used as a horse dewormer. So it is not a lie to say that the drug is used as a horse dewormer. I think that's important- and it's not approved for COVID, correct?'
Rogan slammed the network for 'lying' by saying he took 'horse de-wormer,' despite the fact that his Ivermectin pills, which are used widely around the world, were prescribed by a doctor
'That's right,' Gupta replied. 'It is not approved for COVID and you're right, even the FDA put out a statement saying basically reminding people- it's a strange sort of message FDA, but said 'You're not a horse, you're not a cow, stop taking this stuff' is essentially what they said referring to ivermectin. Now, I think Joe's point is that-
Lemon interjected: 'That it's been approved for humans but not necessarily for COVID, right?'
'That's correct,' Gupta continued. 'It's been used for a parasitic disease- it's called river blindness and it's been very effective for that, but, you know, just because it works for one thing doesn't mean it works for something else.'
Despite his insistence that CNN never lied about how it characterized Rogan's use of the drug, Lemon's show used an on-air graphic last month that said: 'Joe Rogan announces he has COVID, is taking horse dewormer ivermectin.'
During a panel discussion on the issue, Lemon also told CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner that Rogan 'took the deworming drug ivermectin that's been touted by fringe right-wing groups.'
Reiner hit out at Rogan, saying the host is 'promoting kind of a crazy jumble sort of folk remedies and internet-prescribed drugs. He's not helping matters when he's promoting this sort of nonsense therapeutic mix.'
Joe Rogan and CNN's Dr Sanjay Gupta debated the coverage of the anti-parasite drug Ivermectin in Wednesday's 'The Joe Rogan Experience'
In response to a clip of Lemon talking with Gupta, Substack journalist Glenn Greenwald jumped to Rogan's defense, writing: 'There is zero ambiguity they lied about Joe Rogan.'
'They told viewers he took horse dewormer: a 100% lie. He took the human version of ivermectin prescribed by his medical doctor,' Greenwald tweeted out on Thursday. 'But as I said, lying is not frowned upon at CNN: it's encouraged.'
'It's true that ivermectin is not approved for treatment of COVID. That has nothing with the lie CNN told. They said Rogan took horse dewormer. He didn't. And CNN and Don Lemon are such little people, with so little integrity, they can't admit they lied,' he added angrily.
The network was one of many critics of the podcast host taking the drug, which has been approved to treat parasites in humans and animals.
Former UFC commentator and Spotify star, Rogan, 54, also drew criticism from Dr Anthony Fauci when he revealed he took the drug in an Instagram video last month.
Studies have shown that Ivermectin decreases viral loads and may prevent COVID deaths, but the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control recommend against using it for COVID, saying better studies are needed.
The FDA went so far as to send out a tweet telling people: 'You are not a horse, you are not a cow. Seriously, y'all, stop it'.
Gupta seemed overwhelmed by Rogan's line of questioning: 'We're going so fast'
Rogan recovered last month after what he called a 'kitchen sink' approach.
On Wednesday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, he repeatedly pressed Gupta on his coworkers' claims that he took animal drugs.
'Calling it a horse de-wormer is not the most flattering thing, I get that,' Gupta said.
'It's a lie,' Rogan responded.
'It's a lie on a news network … and it's a lie that they're conscious of. It's not a mistake. They're unfavorably framing it as veterinary medicine.'
Gupta pointed to what he called a 'snarky' tweet by the FDA telling people they are 'not a horse,' seemingly comparing it to his CNN colleagues' statements.
'Why would you say that when you're talking about a drug that's been given out to billions and billions of people? A drug that was responsible for one of the inventors winning the Nobel Prize in 2015?
'A drug that has been shown to stop viral replication in vitro - you know that, right? Why would they lie and say that's horse de-wormer? I can afford people medicine, motherf*****. This is ridiculous,' Rogan said, prompting Gupta to laugh.
Gupta seemed to compare his CNN colleagues' assertions to the above tweet by the FDA
Ivermectin, available in human and animal concentrations, is used by 250 million people a year. Studies show it helps reduce viral load, but health experts say more research is needed
Ivermectin is available over-the-counter for horses, though health authorities have warned against humans taking the larger animal concentrations.
Rogan went on to criticize mainstream media for pushing a false narrative about Ivermectin, a broad-spectrum, anti-parasitic 'wonder drug' taken by 250 million people a year, according to a 2015 Nobel lecture.
'It's just a lie, but don't you think a lie like that is dangerous on a news network, when you know that they know they're lying?' Rogan asked.
Gupta seemed overwhelmed: 'We're going so fast.'
'Dude, they lied and said I was taking horse de-wormer,' Rogan shot back. 'First of all, it was prescribed to me by a doctor along with a bunch of other medications.'
Gutpa conceded: 'If you got a human pill - because there are people that were taking the veterinary medication, and you're not, obviously, you got it from a doctor - so it shouldn't be called that.
'Ivermectin can be a very effective medication for parasitic disease and, as you say, it's probably a quarter billion people have taken it around the world.'
'More, way more. Billions of people have taken it,' Rogan said.
'Does it bother you that the network you work for out and lied, just outright lied about me taking horse de-wormer?' Rogan asked point-blank.
'They shouldn't have said that,' Gupta finally admitted.
'Why did they do that?' Rogan asked.
'I don't know,' Gupta said.
'You didn't ask? You're the medical guy over there,' Rogan charged.
'I didn't ask, I should have asked before coming on the podcast,' Gupta said.
Gupta, 51, is a practicing neurosurgeon and professor at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta. He attended the University of Michigan medical school and joined CNN in 2001.
The CNN correspondent's talk with Rogan started out on fairly friendly terms, with Gupta telling Rogan he was 'glad' that he was better.
Rogan has made controversial comments criticizing vaccines and coronavirus lockdown measures
'Thank you,' Rogan responded. 'You're probably the only one at CNN who's glad … The rest of them are all lying about me taking horse medication.'
'That bothered you,' Gupta said.
'It should bother you too,' Rogan shot back. 'They're lying at your network about people taking human drugs versus drugs for veterinary.'
Last month, Rogan announced he fell ill on August 28, during the Florida leg of his live tour. He told his Instagram followers that he took Ivermectin along with monoclonal antibodies, Z-pack antibiotics and a vitamin drip for three days and that he felt great.
The announcement kicked off a flurry of criticism for the popular podcaster, who signed a deal with streaming service Spotify worth a reported $100 million last year.
Dr Fauci, Biden's medical advisor, went on CNN and said that Rogan took the 'livestock de-wormer ivermectin,' adding that it 'doesn't have any effect on COVID, obviously,' according to Yahoo News.
Fauci also called Rogan 'one of the enemies of public health.'
Rogan has previously railed against vaccines and vaccine mandates, saying that young and healthy people don't need to be jabbed. On Wednesday, he also revealed that he was nearly vaccinated in Las Vegas a few months ago but missed his appointment, according to Newsweek.
Ivermectin was discovered from soil samples collected in Japan by microbiologist Satoshi Ōmura in 1970, according to the journal Trends in Parasitology.
Ōmura won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 along with American biologist William C. Campbell, of the pharmaceutical company Merck.
The Nobel committee wrote: 'Its impact on improving the overall health and welfare of hundreds of millions of men, women and children, mostly in poor and impoverished communities, remains unmatched.
'It continues to defy many preconceived concepts, with no drug resistance developing in humans despite years of extensive monotherapy. Tis has led to it being included on the World Health Organization's 'List of Essential Medicines,' a compilation of the most important medications needed in any basic health system.'
An August 21 article in the American Journal of Therapeutics concluded that 'using ivermectin early in the clinical course may reduce numbers progressing to severe disease. The apparent safety and low cost suggest that ivermectin is likely to have a significant impact on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic globally.'
The CDC says more 'adequately sized, well-designed, and well-conducted clinical trials are needed' before recommending Ivermectin for coronavirus.
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