Netflix's 'Liver King' Arrested After 'Picking a Fight' With Joe Rogan
Social media influencer Brian 'Liver King' Johnson has been arrested in Austin due to posting a series of bizarre videos threatening Joe Rogan.
Johnson was taken into custody by police on June 24 and charged with making a terroristic threat, according to Austin Police Department (and first reported by KXAN). Police confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Johnson's charge was specifically due to threatening the podcast titan. Johnson has posted multiple videos on Instagram (below) over the past two days about wanting to battle Rogan and chronicled his journey to Austin to apparently confront the podcaster.
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'Detectives reviewed the posts and observed that Johnson was traveling to Austin while continuing to make threatening statements,' said police in a statement. 'Detectives contacted Mr. Rogan, who stated he had never had any interaction with Johnson and considered the posts to be threatening. Based on this information, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Johnson on a charge of terroristic threat.' The charge is a Class B misdemeanor.
The bushy-bearded Johnson is a controversial and bombastic social media influencer who promotes a 'primal, ancestral lifestyle' that includes consuming raw organ meats and using his line of supplements.
In one video (below), a dancing and shirtless Johnson said: 'Joe Rogan, I'm picking a fight with you! … I'll come to you, whenever you're ready to go.'
In another rambling message (also below), Johnson said: 'Joe Rogan, we don't have to make videos to pretend anymore. All of this is happening. We're coming to you. I've challenged you, man to man, to a fight. Honorable … You can hold the hand of somebody that you love, because you're going to need to remember that feeling. You're going to need something to fight for, because I have my family to fight for and that I'll die for. And you're a black belt, [but] you've you've never come across something like this. [I'm] willing to die, hoping that you'll choke me out.'
In yet another video, Johnson continued to address Rogan: 'Shame on you, I'm going to make you pay … I'm going to fight, and I'm not going to stop.' Then Johnson proceeded to chase a cockroach.
Johnson and Rogan have a history. Rogan has mocked Johnson on his podcast, calling him 'preposterous,' due to the influencer insisting that his bulked-out physique was achieved due to his 'natural' lifestyle and that he did not use steroids. In 2022, Johnson was forced to admit he did, in fact, use steroids and human growth hormone after emails between himself and a doctor were leaked online that showed he was spending $11,000 per month on the substances. Rogan has since said that Johnson has asked to come on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and that the host refused, explaining, 'You ran a con game and you got busted.'
The duo's contentious history was chronicled in Netflix's recent documentary Untold: The Liver King, which depicted Johnson's rise and fall. Johnson seems to partly blame Rogan for the scandal's impact on his supplement empire.
Making matters even more wild, yet another famous Austin-based podcaster also weighed in on this: Alex Jones. The notorious conspiracy theorist noted that Johnson was arrested 'for traveling to Austin to attack Joe Rogan' and suggested Johnson has mental health issues.
One of the videos referenced above appears to have been deleted from Johnson's Instagram page, but it's the top right video in this tweet:
June 25, 7:40 a.m. This story has been updated with information from the Austin Police Department.
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