The Brave Ones

Ft. Joe Rogan, Gina Carano, Justin Baldoni & Drea de Matteo

Joe Rogan doesn’t give a shit. People are mad that he criticized Donald Trump over Iran and then showed up at the White House praising him on something else.

But this is actually how it should be. Agree where you agree. Push back where you don’t.

Not everything has to be all-or-nothing, team red vs. team blue. It’s so tired already. You can support someone’s stance on psychedelics like ibogaine and still call them out on foreign policy. It’s not hypocritical. It’s called independent thinking.

Joe Rogan has been one of the bravest of all. Remember when the entertainment industry lined up to cancel him in 2022? Famous people like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and others demanded Spotify pull his show over COVID-related podcasts with very established scientists and doctors like Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr.Jay Bhattacharya. (Dr. Malone helped contributed to early mRNA research and Dr. McCullough is one of the most published scientists in the United States.)

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I knew Joe from when I was the General Manager of the Laugh Factory. He is literally, and I know that word is overused but it’s not here, the last person I would have thought would become as monumentally influential as he has. It’s almost absurd. I think even he would agree.

That said, Joe has evolved as a person and is a tremendous podcaster. He is genuinely curious and listens pretty well a lot of the time. The only problem I have with his podcast is people kiss his ass too much. Not all, but a lot. That’s a problem as a lot are afraid to push back. But overall, he has done society a tremendous favor by putting on people from all walks of life and differing viewpoints.

He stays curious and open-minded and admits when he is wrong. How many people do you know who say that out loud? “I was wrong.” Not many.

In Hollywood and media, it’s radical and rare to go against whatever the narrative is. People are so afraid of being ostracized or canceled.

They thought they got him with the Covid stuff but he actually gained more followers than ever—millions more. The Streisand Effect I suppose. He is uncancellable because he is undeniable.

I think I’ve been critical of a lot of public figures lately so thought it might be nice to point out the good ones. I thought of this when I heard Gina Carano is making a return to MMA after 17 years. She is fighting Ronda Rousey on May 16, 2026. It’s going to be a big Netflix-streamed event.

I’ve never watched a single MMA fight. I can’t watch that stuff. My dad took me to a fight at Madison Square Garden when I was young. We had front row seats. We had to leave. I couldn’t bear it.

Back to Gina. She went up against Disney. That alone tells you everything.

After being fired from The Mandalorian in 2021, due to some controversial social media posts, she didn’t apologize or walk it back. She held her ground. In Hollywood, that’s almost unheard of. Very rare. Most people self-censor just to stay in the game, but she did not.

With financial backing from Elon Musk, she sued Lucasfilm/Disney. And in 2025, she settled. Now she’s back, and stepping into the ring again after 17 years. That MMA fight is poised to be a juggernaut. Now that’s a comeback!

Whether you agree or disagree with Carano’s views is irrelevant. The point is that people shouldn’t be silenced and/or fired for their viewpoints. One day it could be you. We have a First Amendment in this country and there’s a reason it is first. We should not take it for granted.

This says it all—

Gina Carano, Disney Settle Legal Dispute Over ‘Mandalorian’ Firing: “We Look Forward to Identifying Opportunities to Work Together in the Future.”

Then there’s Jon Stewart, who went on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and said what a lot of people were afraid to say at the time which was that a lab leak wasn’t some crazy conspiracy, it was common sense. The Wuhan Institute of Virology is a lab studying coronaviruses and just so happens to be in the same city as where the outbreak occurred. Duh.

He said,

“There’s a novel coronavirus in Wuhan… maybe ask the Wuhan coronavirus lab.”

Colbert was visibly uncomfortable. Remember when he did that stupid vaccine dance? It was a whole recurring bit called “The Vax-Scene.” It featured singing and dancing celebrating COVID vaccinations. Brought to you by Pfizer. 🤮

Stewart was a little late to the game, but not too much after Gina. Good on him. I like that guy. I don’t always agree with him but sometimes I do and he’s smart and charming as hell.

Next up—Justin Baldoni. Now this is not someone I would ever have thought would stand up against the mob but thankfully he did. He’s definitely what we used to call “metrosexual.” Is that on the list of verboten words? I don’t care. It’s probably just dated. I mean look at this guy…

What I mean is he sort of built his brand on redefining masculinity with vulnerability, feminism, and “doing better” as a man. But when Blake Lively and her powerful Hollywood team who she referred to as her “dragons” turned on him during It Ends With Us, by launching a massive smear campaign and sexual harassment claims, in order to get control, he didn’t bow down.

In texts that surfaced during the Justin Baldoni lawsuit (related to It Ends With Us), Blake allegedly compared herself to Daenerys Targaryen (Khaleesi) from Game of Thrones and called her husband Ryan Reynolds and close friend Taylor Swift her “dragons“ — powerful allies she could call upon.

He hired the best of the best attorneys—Bryan Freedman and he fought back hard. Freedman didn’t have Baldoni just deny the allegations, he flipped the narrative. They countersued for defamation and dropped a $250M+ lawsuit against The New York Times.

Freedman also launched a public website (thelawsuitinfo.com) in early 2025 which contained screenshots of texts and videos which supported Baldoni’s claims. This guy is not kidding around.

Many of the claims against Baldoni have already been dismissed, with trial scheduled for May 18, 2026 in New York.

Honestly, most of these celebrities fold under pressure, especially when powerful public figures like Taylor Swift and Ryan Reynolds are involved. Standing your ground and defending your name is really brave. It was also a great reminder to those in power that in this digital age, you cannot hide. Your digital footprint is everything even with the most powerful “dragons” by your side.

Drea de Matteo is another brave one.

I actually met her once by accident. I rang the wrong doorbell picking up my daughter. She was so kind. Totally normal. Not what you expect when you’re face-to-face with someone you recognize from The Sopranos! I think that may have been the only time I was genuinely starstruck. I mean Adriana!

I wish I’d known her when she was going through all of the craziness of COVID. She was one of the few in Hollywood who said no to the COVID vaccine mandates. Boy did she get some swift backlash.

In podcasts she talked about how her friends ghosted her, and the roles dried up. She nearly lost her house, and actually turned to OnlyFans just to make ends meet.

And instead of apologizing or hiding, she doubled down and called out the hypocrisy. And although I don’t understand her unwavering support of Trump, I am in awe of her bravery and refusal to back down. She stayed true to her convictions in a town filled with a bunch of pussies. That’s the truth.

These are just some of the famous courageous. There are not that many more. It’s astounding to me that so few were willing to stand up to the narrative because they were so fearful.

That’s the theme here.

You had to be of the caliber of Clint Eastwood, or you did risk the repercussions. We should recognize those who did and do. When you are dealing with people’s livelihoods it’s all the more brave.

And it’s not just celebrities. There are regular people too, people you don’t see online, who still feel like they have to be careful about what they say. Even now.

I know parents who are afraid to push back on their kids school policies for fear of retribution. That should not be the case. Ever.

Being brave doesn’t always mean being loud. Sometimes it just means saying something when it would be easier not to or refusing to go along when everyone else does. None of this…🐑🐑🐑

Go forth unafraid.

That’s all for now. Much love, Sabrina❤️