On Rogan’s podcast, Michael Jai White slams the “everybody gets a trophy" culture, warning that shielding kids from failure leaves them unable to handle loss or real-world challenges.
Media Hollywood actor tells Rogan that participation trophy culture has become a crisis in America 'It's like we're not making men anymore,' the actor lamented By Alexander Hall Fox News Published February 18, 2026 9:00pm EST Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video Joe Rogan and action film star talk about how masculinity has been 'demonized' in America Podcaster Joe Rogan and action film star Michael Jai White, both of whom are martial artists, talked about how the demonization of masculinity and participation trophies have impacted young men. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Podcaster Joe Rogan and Hollywood actor Michael Jai White said on Wednesday that modern America's refusal to let young men compete and lose is part of what's fueling the modern masculinity crisis. Rogan and White spoke about how places like Australia and New Zealand have been great sources of action movie stars and competitive fighters in recent years. White argues that one thing that benefits that part of the world, particularly certain warrior cultures, there is that they still have rites of passage for young men."That's one thing that is sad about the United States. It's like we're not making men anymore," White said. "Not a lot of them," Rogan agreed. "When they are, they stand out." VANITY FAIR DECLARES THE END OF THE OLD-SCHOOL MOVIE STAR, THE RISE OF HOLLYWOOD’S ‘VULNERABLE’ LEADING MEN Joe Rogan attends the UFC 277 ceremonial weigh-in at American Airlines Center on July 29, 2022, in Dallas, Texas. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) White went on to argue that many times now in American movies, when there is an American alpha-male type character, he, ironically, is often played by an Australian, a comment that made Rogan laugh. "It's very rarely an American.""Well, masculinity is demonized here," Rogan said. "For some strange reason over the last couple of decades." "Bro, I saw the beginning of a lot of it, because you know, like I said, I was a schoolteacher, and I was right on the forefront seeing, like, ‘everybody gets a trophy,’" White recalled.He railed against the idea of doing everything one can to protect kids’ self-esteem, arguing in response, "I'm like, come on. And, you know, taking away competition. I saw the beginning of that s---, and it's just so, so bad. Then these kids don't know how to deal with loss or anything and then they end up shooting a classroom!" HOW FEMINISM HIJACKED THE CONVERSATION ON MASCULINITY Actor Michael Jai White. ((Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)) "Dealing with loss is one of the most important lessons you could ever learn," Rogan said. "If you want to get better, lose. Losing is the best medicine because you lose, ‘I don't ever want to feel that again.’ And then you start thinking about all the things that you cut corners on, all the things that you didn’t do. ‘What can I do differently to make sure that that never happens again that I never feel that feeling?’ Or you quit.""Those are the two options," Rogan said, underlying his point. "Either you get way better or you quit."CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE Podcaster Joe Rogan argued that losing is far more instructive than winning, because "either you get way better or you quit." (Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
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