Podcaster Joe Rogan defended mixed martial artist Josh Hokit’s controversial Michelle Obama remark at the White House’s UFC event last month – saying, “I don’t agree with it … But I get it and it’s smart.”

Rogan was providing color commentary on the June 14 fights on the South Lawn of the White House when, in a post-fight press conference, Hokit bizarrely shouted to the crowd, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”

During his podcast Tuesday, Rogan was talking about how to “make America great” when comedian Ali Siddiq pressed him on the contentious jab at the former first lady, asking, “How did that help?”

“It’s really divisive because you know that a large portion of the country is gonna take this and is gonna have a problem with this, you know. Clearly she’s not a man,” Siddiq said. “People are gonna ask, is that what’s the belief? That’s the real belief of people?”

Rogan jumped in, saying: “Well listen, there’s some crazy people who believe the world is flat. There’s a lot of dumb beliefs. There’s probably people who do believe Michelle Obama is a man.”

“He’s [Hokit] like a pro wrestler, like he’s got a character called ‘The Incredible Hoke,’ it’s very corny in a lot of ways, sometimes it’s, you know, cringey, but the point is he gets a lot of attention,” Rogan added.

“So what he’s trying to do is maximize the amount of attention that he can get for a very short window of career.”

The podcaster argued that Hokit had taken on a wrestling persona inspired by the late Hulk Hogan, a pro wrestler who was a close friend of President Trump’s, when he made the disparaging remark – stunning the audience at the White House into silence. 

Rogan said Hokit’s dig at Obama was a part of his “act” and “not how he really feels,” adding that “in real life, he’s very reasonable.”

“It is very divisive, don’t get me wrong, but that’s by design,” Rogan continued. “You got to get attention. I don’t agree with it, I wouldn’t do it, it’s not my thing, I don’t like it, right? But I get it and it’s smart.” 

Neither Michelle nor Barack Obama has made a public response to the comment – but Hokit has doubled down on his shocking statement.

“I thought I was giving her a compliment,” he said during an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show” a week after the event.