Kid Rock Doubles Down After Using Homophobic Slur Onstage at Nashville Bar

Kid Rock isn’t apologizing after using a homophobic slur while on stage earlier this week. The “Redneck Paradise” singer was caught on camera in a video published by TMZ performing at the FishLipz Grill in Smithville, Tennessee flipping off people in the crowd for filming him. “F— your iPhone. You can post this, you can post this, you can post this d— right now,” he said. “You f—ing f—s with your phones out.”

Kid Rock would address his use of the slur on Twitter Wednesday, doubling down on his use and claiming he has a “lot of love for his gay friends” in a statement written in the third person and attributed to his real name, Bob Ritchie. “If Kid Rock using the word f— offends you, good chance you are one,” he wrote. “Either way, I know he has a lot of love for his gay friends and I will have a talk with him. Have a nice day. -Bob Ritchie”

Most of his followers weren’t buying it. “Funny how bigots always claim to have friends of whatever particular slur they happen to be slinging,” one person quipped. Another pointed out that LGBTQ youth are three times more likely to contemplate suicide seriously than their heterosexual peers, as per The Trevor Project, writing, “Do not normalize the use of the F word. It really is a matter of life or death for some of these kids.”

Kid Rock has a history of similar behavior, going on a rant in November 2019 about Oprah Winfrey, Joy Behar, and Kathie Lee Gifford while performing at Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk in Nashville. “I’m like, Oprah Winfrey or Joy Behar, they can suck d— sideways,” Rock told the crowd. “F— Oprah Winfrey and f— Kathie Lee Gifford.” He also told the crowd he isn’t racist and would tell anyone who accused him of being so to “f— off sideways.”

Rock also made headlines last month when his bar hosted Morgan Wallen‘s first performance since the country singer’s racist scandal. In February, Wallen was caught on camera using the N-word and has since been disqualified from awards shows, had his recording contract suspended, and his music removed from radio stations. Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk in Nashville was also one of the bars in the early stages of coronavirus mitigation shutdowns to defy the city order, claiming it was “unconstitutional.”