Tim Dillon, another Rogan-adjacent comic who fled to Austin during the height of COVID restrictions, torched the city in a brutal tirade on Whitney Cummings’ podcast in September 2024. He called it a “soulless city that should be burned to the ground,” and mocked its supposed thriving music scene as just “three heroin addicts busking with guitars.”

Gillis, who has returned to stardom after previously using an anti-Asian slur on a podcast and getting fired from Saturday Night Live, moved from New York City to Austin in 2023. He's said in several interviews that his move was motivated by a desire to be closer to Rogan's comedy venue and Texas' lack of a state income tax.

In 2020, podcaster Joe Rogan announced he was moving from Los Angeles to Austin with loud fanfare, according to Chron. His big appeal at a time of mandatory masks was Austin’s lax mask requirement, along with lower taxes.