Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has apologized to the company’s employees but insists that silencing Joe Rogan is not the answer.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek released an internal memo on Feb. 6, apologizing to the company’s employees. Furthermore, the top executive said he “strongly” condemns Joe Rogan’s use of racial slurs. 

This statement came at the time when Spotify is drawing flak for hosting Rogan’s podcast. Moreover, some resurfaced clips from older episodes show Rogan using derogatory language and racial slurs.

Spotify CEO Says Rogan’s Comments Were Hurtful

Ek sent the internal memo to staffers, noting that Rogan’s comments were “incredibly hurtful.” Aside from that, he insists that Rogan’s comments did not represent Spotify’s value, according to a report by Variety.

Furthermore, he acknowledged the controversy’s impact on staffers, and said he was “deeply sorry.”

Nevertheless, Ek does not support the idea of removing Rogan’s podcast from Spotify. “I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer… canceling voices is a slippery slope,” he wrote in the memo.

Ek revealed that it was Rogan who requested the platform to take down some of his older episodes. The Spotify CEO said he agreed.

According to Ek, he was committing an “incremental investment of $100 million” to license, develop and market content created by historically marginalized groups.

“While some might want us to pursue a different path, I believe that more speech on more issues can be highly effective in improving the status quo and enhancing the conversation altogether,” Ek said in the internal statement.

Spotify has taken down 113 episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast so far. according to a tracker called JRE Missing. This includes 71 episodes that were removed from the platform over the weekend.