Joe Rogan has apologised for using a racial slur in past episodes of his popular podcast, many of which have been removed from Spotify without explanation.

A video compilation of Rogan using the highly offensive word circulated on Friday. In an Instagram post on Saturday, Rogan described the video as “horrible” and said it was the “most regretful and shameful thing” he’s ever had to talk about.

The video has added to criticism of the world’s most popular podcast host and Spotify, which has the exclusive distribution rights to his show. A handful of musicians and podcasters have asked Spotify to take down their work because of Rogan, who has also hosted sceptics of Covid-19 vaccines and guests accused of transphobia...