'This is a big moment of reckoning for entertainment and streaming platforms to see where the window is, what's over the line.' 'There's some real self-examination to be doing beyond Joe,' Wihbey said. The streaming site also has to decide whether offensive words are allowable elsewhere on its app, where songs with racist, homophobic and anti-immigrant messages are available, said John Wihbey, a Northeastern University professor and specialist in emerging technologies. He has the right to say what he wants,' that continues on the line where there is this implicit support to say racist things on these platforms,' she said in an interview before Ek's letter. On race, the choice is between keeping Rogan and sending a message that society has become too 'woke' or showing that Spotify is more attuned to a multiracial society, said Adia Harvey Wingfield, a sociology professor at Washington University in St. Whether Spotify continues to keep Rogan or cuts ties, the decision likely won't sit well with one side or the other in an increasingly polarized country. MoneyWatch: Spotify responds to backlash over Joe Rogan's controversial podcast 04:14
