Liver King's Rant About Joe Rogan on Instagram Led the Austin Police to Arrest Him

A beef seems to have erupted between Liver King and Joe Rogan, although it's not totally clear why that's happened. Liver King, a fitness influencer whose real name is Brian Johnson, posted a series of slightly unsettling videos about wanting to fight Rogan on his Instagram page.

After posting the videos, many naturally wondered whether Johnson and Rogan had some sort of ongoing feud. While that doesn't seem to be the case, it's clear enough now that the two of them don't like each other. Here's what we know about why.

Johnson has never appeared on Rogan's podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, but his name has come up several times. Johnson, who admitted in 2022 that he spends thousands of dollars a year on steroids in order to maintain his chiseled physique, has come up in the context of bodybuilding and steroids on the show. It seems like those invocations might have been enough to set Johnson off, although we don't know for sure what motivated the videos he posted.

In his first video, posted on June 23, Johnson challenged the podcast host to an "honorable" fight. “Joe Rogan, I’m calling you out, my name’s Liver King. Man to man, I’m picking a fight with you," he said while wearing a wolf pelt. “I have no training in jiu-jitsu, you’re a black belt, you should dismantle me. But I’m picking a fight with you. Your rules, I’ll come to you, whenever you’re ready.”

Johnson further said that he had "a family to fight for," and also added “You never come across something like this, willing to die, hoping that you’ll choke me out because that’s a dream come true."

According to The New York Post, Johnson then traveled to Austin, where Rogan is located, which is when police got involved and arrested him.

Law enforcement reportedly reached out to Rogan after Johnson traveled to Texas, and Rogan “stated he had never had any interaction with Johnson and considered the posts to be threatening.”

Rogan said that he was unaware that the YouTuber was targeting him, but also said that he had been told by others that Johnson “has a significant drug issue."

Johnson was arrested on June 24 after checking into a Four Seasons hotel in Austin and was booked at the Travis County Jail and charged with terroristic threat, a Class B misdemeanor.

According to online records, Johnson was released on a $20,000 bond and was ordered to have no contact with Rogan or his family, to have a mental health evaluation within a week of his release, and not be in possession of firearms.

It's unclear whether Johnson was in Austin specifically to fight Rogan, but authorities clearly didn't want to take any chances. And, while we don't know why the fight between them started, here's hoping it doesn't escalate any further.