Rogan condemns supporters of mother on trial for killing three children
Joe Rogan criticized social media supporters of Lindsay Clancy, on trial for murdering her three children, arguing they would not rally for a father in the same situation. Experts weigh in on the case's online following and mental health debates.
Podcaster Joe Rogan on Tuesday condemned supporters of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother on trial for murdering her three young children, saying the public sympathy she has received on social media would not exist if a father stood accused of the same crime. On his show, the «Joe Rogan Experience», Rogan addressed the widespread online movement that has rallied around Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse from Duxbury who faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan — at the family home in January 2023.
Clancy does not dispute that she killed her children, but her defense argues she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and is not criminally responsible. The case has become a social media phenomenon, with supporters forming groups, sharing theories, and debating the circumstances of the killings. Rogan pushed back against that sympathy, saying, «This lady killed her kids and everyone's like, 'Oh my God, she needed help.' 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 went further, describing the crime scene and arguing that supporters would not feel the same if they saw the children's final moments. «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 lamented the broader state of public discourse, calling the case and its online reaction another example of a world that has become «absurd beyond belief.» He said, «People are out of their f---ing mind right now. She's out of her f---ing mind. The world is out of its f---ing mind. It's like more of these things come up where you're like, 'This can't be real. This can't be real.' And it is real.» He contrasted the support for Clancy with the common understanding that parents would do anything to protect their children.
Later in the podcast, Rogan argued there is a growing radicalization among certain groups, particularly childless liberal women, who he said want to «scold the world» and treat society as a substitute for the children they do not have. He acknowledged the generalization but insisted the pattern is visible. «Liberal women with no children want to turn the world into their children,» he said. «They're taking care of the world like it's the child that they don't have.»
Fox News Digital spoke with experts about Rogan's comments. Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring, a board-certified psychiatrist and CEO of TaperClinic, agreed that social media has turned the case into a spectacle. «Rogan is right about one thing: People can turn cases like this into teams. That is not healthy. Lindsay Clancy should not be treated like a hero or celebrity. Three children died,» he said. He criticized some TikTok commentary as «ignorant and deplorable,» comparing it to the rush to make Luigi Mangione a symbol before facts were known.
Witt-Doerring also cautioned against assuming all supporters share the same view. «Most women supporting Lindsay are not saying, 'It's OK that she killed her children.' They are saying the postpartum period can be extremely hard, and many women understand the anxiety, lack of sleep, financial stress and pressure to return to work,» he said. He noted that Clancy was prescribed 13 different psychiatric drugs in the months before the deaths, and some evidence suggests those medications may have worsened her condition. He argued that a father in similar circumstances — for example, a veteran with depression and drug-induced psychosis — would deserve the same legal consideration.
Mary Marslender, a former GOP consultant, agreed with Rogan that a double standard exists. «Joe Rogan is spot on. Would there be a supporter rally for a father who committed the same act? Of course not,» she said. She pointed to the details of the case, including reports that Clancy planned the killings while her husband was out picking up takeout, and said no one would be posting «I am him» if the accused were male.
The trial continues to draw attention as legal and medical experts debate the role of postpartum psychosis and the limits of criminal responsibility. The case has also sparked broader conversations about mental health care, medication, and the way public opinion can shape perceptions of justice.
