Joe Rogan found himself navigating a fiery conversation on his podcast recently—literally—after one of his guests jokingly blamed YouTube superstar MrBeast for the raging Los Angeles wildfires.
The wildfires, which have wreaked havoc across L.A. County since January 7, have caused devastation on an unprecedented scale, destroying over 12,300 structures and racking up damages estimated at a staggering $150 billion. And while climate change and Santa Ana winds are getting most of the blame, Rogan’s guests were ready with their own, uh, creative theories.
Enter comedian Mark Normand, who, in classic Normand style, quipped: “I think it’s MrBeast. He’s setting up a new video.”
Rogan, ever the straight-faced moderator, replied, “Wow, that’s a strong accusation,” to which Normand quickly backpedaled with, “No, no, just kidding. But they’ve been trying to get rid of the homeless for a while.”
Not to be outdone, Rogan offered his own spicy take: “Bro, the homeless are doing it. They’re more inclined to use fire to get their anger out.”
Naturally, MrBeast—aka Jimmy Donaldson—has yet to weigh in on his alleged secret pyrotechnics hobby. But considering his YouTube empire with over 344 million subscribers and his reputation for giving away houses, cars, and even medical procedures, we’d wager he’s too busy handing out life-changing gifts to be playing arsonist. Just a hunch.
The conversation spiraled into Rogan’s deeper dive on arson and chaos during the fires. Referencing fellow podcaster Andrew Huberman, Rogan claimed Huberman caught people in the act of lighting fires, sharing the footage on Instagram. “You’ve got losers, 100,000 losers camping on your street. What do you think’s gonna happen?” Rogan mused. “People are looting, organized gangs are hitting evacuated homes, and someone even mistook a robbery crew for movers. Welcome to L.A., baby.”
But don’t worry—Rogan also empathized with the looters. “I see their point,” he admitted. “If I were broke, living in the hood, and someone said, ‘They’re evacuating these $50 million houses, let’s go get paid,’ I’d probably go, ‘Yeah, let’s go get paid.’ And in L.A., if you get caught, they just let you go. It’s basically shoplifting, but, like, with plasma TVs.”
Of course, Rogan himself escaped this chaos by relocating to Texas in 2020—a move that’s aging better with each firestorm. Whether it’s arsonists, looters, or MrBeast’s hypothetical “Firestarter Challenge,” one thing is certain: only Rogan can make disaster commentary this wildly entertaining.
