Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass hits back at criticism over Joe Rogan interview

Popular American podcaster describes the episode as 'the worst' he has ever done

Zahi Hawass has defended an interview with Joe Rogan, after which he was widely criticised and accused of arrogance. Getty Images

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass has hit back at criticism from Egyptians on social media over his controversial interview with Joe Rogan and accused the US media personality of focusing his questions on topics he had long dismissed as pseudoscience.

The nearly two-hour interview, which was released on podcast platforms and on YouTube on May 14, touched on Mr Hawass’s extensive career and his work at the pyramids and other pharaonic sites at the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo.

But the conversation quickly became contentious, leading many viewers to criticise Mr Hawass for his combative demeanour and refusal to engage in meaningful discussions about his research.

A week after its release, Rogan described the episode as “the worst podcast I have ever done" but also "maybe a good one, too”, during an interview with NFL superstar Aaron Rodgers.

Rogan’s remarks, including his characterisation of Mr Hawass as “a closed-minded fellow” who was “gatekeeping all the knowledge”, have caused a stir on Egyptian social media.

Many online comments criticised Mr Hawass for interrupting Rogan’s questions and his dismissal of attempts to explore alternative theories about the pyramids and the Sphinx.

According to one viewer who spoke to The National, Mr Hawass exhibited a “severe and sometimes aggressive” unwillingness to entertain doubts or alternative perspectives about his work.

"Throughout the interview, Mr Hawass repeatedly interrupted Rogan, deflected detailed questions about his work, and emphasised his authority and legacy rather than addressing the topics at hand," one viewer said.

Critics on YouTube and social media also accused Mr Hawass of arrogance. One viewer noted that, rather than engaging with Rogan’s questions, Mr Hawass repeatedly insisted his word as the “foremost expert on ancient Egypt” should suffice.

Mr Hawass, who is on a lecture tour in the US, was not immediately available for comment but his media liaison Ali Abou Dsheish told The National he was "very upset" by the criticism.

The former minister of antiquities appeared on an Egyptian talk show on Tuesday night to defend himself.

“How can this man, Joe Rogan, not read my book before I arrived?” Mr Hawass asked angrily, referring to Giza and the Pyramids, a 1,000-page study co-written with American archaeologist Mark Lehner. “The only book in the world written about Giza with the utmost skill. How can he not have read it?”

Mr Hawass went on to question the criticism of his interview. “Why are they attacking me? Because I held my own against Joe Rogan? Because I was confident? Why would my confidence offend him? Did they even understand what our conversation was about? Did they even understand what this man was really saying?”

He reiterated that his decades of research had definitively proven how the pyramids were built. The subject continues to baffle many archaeologists.

During the Rogan interview, he repeatedly referred to his book as the definitive source on the topic. However, viewers noted that he failed to provide detailed answers to some of Rogan’s more technical questions, particularly about construction techniques.

On the talk show, Mr Hawass suggested Rogan’s line of questioning was influenced by an agenda to undermine his credibility. He claimed the interview, arranged a year ago by alternative historian Graham Hancock, with whom Mr Hawass recently resolved a 25-year dispute, was unfairly skewed towards topics "like Atlantis and aliens", subjects he has long dismissed as pseudoscience.

“I spent 25 years holding debates against people like Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval and John Anthony West, who argued that the pyramids and the Sphinx were built 15,000 years ago by people from Atlantis,” Mr Hawass said. “Thank God I stood up against their ideas, not just in Egyptian newspapers, but internationally as well. I told Rogan I have nothing to do with these matters.”

One of the most heated moments during the Rogan interview occurred when the host brought up a recent study by Italian researchers Filippo Biondi and Corrado Malanga. The study, which used tomography technology, suggested the existence of hidden shafts, tunnels and passages beneath the Giza Plateau.

Mr Hawass told Rogan the study was “completely false” and that, not being a radar expert himself, he had consulted with the best imaging experts he knew and they had categorically discredited it.

While the Italian researchers have gained credibility in recent months, their work remains controversial and has not yet been widely accepted by the archaeological community.