Podcaster Joe Rogan has strongly criticized the public support for Lindsay Clancy, who is currently on trial for the murder of her three young children in Massachusetts. On his "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, Rogan questioned the nature of the advocacy surrounding Clancy, a former nurse accused of killing her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan, at their Duxbury home on January 24, 2023. Clancy does not deny killing her children but is arguing for criminal responsibility to be waived due to postpartum psychosis.
Rogan specifically pointed to social media support groups and online discussions that have rallied around Clancy. He posed a hypothetical scenario: "Imagine if a single father killed his kids. Do you think there’d be any dads out there? ‘We get it. We understand. I also get sad!’" he stated, suggesting a father would not receive the same level of public sympathy.
He described the online commentary as absurd and indicative of a world he believes is "out of its f—ing mind." Rogan expressed disbelief at people supporting a woman accused of killing her children, emphasizing the gravity of the alleged crime. "If those ladies could see the crime scene and see those dead kids with their f—ing vacant eyes staring up because their mother took their life, the last f—ing thing that they saw was their mother standing over them, choking them to death, I don’t think they would feel so bad," he said.
Rogan also posited a theory about a growing radicalization among some demographics, particularly "childless liberal women," whom he suggested are overly focused on societal issues. "Liberal women with no children want to turn the world into their children," he said. "They want to, like, scold the world like they’re doing the wrong thing, and they’re worried about the environment. And they’re worried about the future. And they’re worried about voting. And they’re worried about rights. And they’re worried about immigrants. They’re worried about this, and they’re worried about that. They’re taking care of the world like it’s the child that they don’t have."
Experts offered varying perspectives on Rogan's comments. Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring, a psychiatrist, agreed that social media can turn such cases into "teams" and that Clancy should not be treated as a hero. He cautioned against generalizations, noting that many women supporting Clancy are not condoning the killings but are expressing empathy for the extreme difficulties of the postpartum period and frustration with the mental health system. "Lindsay was prescribed 13 different psychiatric drugs in the months before the deaths, and there is evidence that those medications may have played a role in making her worse," Witt-Doerring stated, adding that a father in a similar situation might receive less sympathy.
Mary Marslender, a former GOP consultant, concurred with Rogan's assessment of a potential double standard. "Joe Rogan is spot on. Would there be a supporter rally for a father who committed the same act? Of course not," she said. Marslender argued that a father in such a situation would be labeled a "monster," and that the current public reaction demonstrates "the hypocrisy of feminism." She concluded, "It is possible to acknowledge that Clancy was ill and that our psychiatric system is deeply flawed, while also refusing to idolize someone who brutally killed her own children."