Brian Johnson, better known as The Liver King, didn’t just build a personal brand – he built a primal mythology. With a chiseled physique, raw liver in hand, and a nine-tenet lifestyle straight out of a Neanderthal cosplay, he amassed millions of followers and millions of dollars. But this week, Johnson’s public image took a darker turn.
The 47-year-old was arrested in Austin, Texas, on a charge of making terroristic threats, specifically against podcast host Joe Rogan. In a series of erratic Instagram videos, Johnson appeared agitated, and on the hunt, saying he was heading to Austin to “pick a fight” with Rogan and “willing to die.” Local police found the threats credible enough to issue a warrant and arrest him at the Four Seasons Hotel on Tuesday. He was booked into Travis County Jail with bail set at $20,000.
“Joe Rogan, I’m calling you out, my name’s Liver King. Man to man, I’m picking a fight with you,” Johnson said in a video he posted on social media earlier this week. “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.”
From primal power to public breakdown
This isn’t Johnson’s first public fall from grace. In 2022, after months of denying steroid use, leaked emails revealed he was spending over $11,000 a month on performance-enhancing drugs, contradicting the entire “natural ancestral lifestyle” he had preached. The scandal forced a public apology, but his brand survived, if bruised.
The latest arrest may be harder to bounce back from. Johnson reportedly posted videos issuing direct verbal challenges to Rogan, who has previously mocked Johnson’s alleged natty status and marketing persona. Rogan, contacted by police, confirmed he had no relationship with Johnson and found the threats disturbing.
What this means and why it matters
The charge against Johnson is a Class B misdemeanour in Texas. That might sound minor, but the implications aren’t. Threatening a public figure, especially one as high-profile as Joe Rogan, crosses a legal and cultural line. It also reinforces a wider question: what happens when influencer personas outgrow the people behind them?
Johnson’s behaviour has sparked concern about his mental health. He’s built a business empire, starred in a recent Netflix documentary, and cultivated a cult-like following. But the recent videos showed a man unravelling.
Influencer culture has no brakes
Johnson’s arrest is less about two personalities clashing and more about the warped incentives of social media fame. When attention is currency, provocation becomes a business model. But as this incident shows, there’s a line between performance and genuine threat—and the algorithm doesn’t always care where that line is.
If Johnson’s brand was once about primal strength, it’s now about public collapse. And while the legal system will handle the immediate fallout, the deeper reckoning may lie with the audience—and the industry—that built him up in the first place.
