Kid Rock during a visit to the White House – Photo: The White House.
Rapper, songwriter and musician Kid Rock has doubled down on the anti-gay slur that earned him criticism earlier this month.
On June 5, Rock was caught on tape by the tabloid news outlet TMZ hurling homophobic slurs at fans during a recent show in Tennessee.
Gazing into one fan’s phone, Rock can be heard yelling, “F–k your iPhone, yeah!” in the video clip. He then turns to the crowd and yelled, “You f–king f—-ts with your iPhones out!”
Rock was barraged with criticism on social media from people offended by the homophobic slur. But just as the controversy appeared to be dying down, the 50-year-old musician put his foot in his mouth again, reports the New York Post.
“If Kid Rock using the word f—-t offends you, good chance you are one,” he tweeted, attributing the statement to his real name, Bob Ritchie. He added: “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.”
“Someone with gay friends wouldn’t use that word as an insult,” wrote one of Rock’s critics. “Enjoy the continued loss of fans and income.”
“Cool can you also ask him to write decent music someday?” quipped another, highlighting Rock’s referencing of himself in the third person.
“I am not gay, but my child is. & that term doesn’t offend me as much as it cuts my heart,” tweeted another. “[I]t’s hateful rhetoric, a hate-filled term. You know it. Trying to spin it as ‘cute’ is even uglier.”
I am not gay, but my child is. & that term doesn’t offend me as much as it cuts my heart
it’s hateful rhetoric a hate-filled term you know it
After removing all references to transgender people from the Stonewall National Monument website earlier this year, the National Park Service has now scrubbed mentions of bisexual people as well.
As first reported by transgender journalist Erin Reed on her Erin in the Morning Substack, the change occurred on July 10, when the homepage was updated to read, "Before the 1960s, almost everything about living authentically as a gay or lesbian person was illegal."
Subsequent pages, including the site's "History and Culture" section, were also altered to remove broader LGBTQ references. One now reads: "Stonewall was a milestone for gay and lesbian civil rights," whereas it previously noted that living "openly as a member of the Stonewall comunity was a violation of law."
In another swipe at the transgender community, the national monument honoring what is widely seen as the seminal event of the modern LGBTQ rights movement has erased all mention of transgender and queer people.
Each June, the Stonewall National Monument in New York City typically decorates the fence surrounding Christopher Park -- the small park adjacent to the historic Stonewall Inn and part of the official monument -- with various Pride flags.
In past years, the display has featured a mix of flags -- the familiar six-stripe rainbow Pride flag, the blue, pink, and white transgender Pride flag, and the "Progress" flag, which adds stripes for Black and brown communities and a chevron design incorporating transgender and intersex Pride colors.
In one of the stranger crime sprees of Pride Month, a masked man on an electric unicycle is reportedly stealing Pride flags across Longmont, Colorado.
Since Memorial Day weekend -- just ahead of Pride Month -- the man has vandalized homes by bending flagpoles and tearing down flags.
Sheryl Colaur, one of the victims, told the Longmont Daily Times-Call that at least 10 -- and possibly as many as 15 -- of her neighbors in Longmont's Harvest Junction Village neighborhood have had their Pride flags stolen, allegedly by the same man.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
Rapper, songwriter and musician Kid Rock has doubled down on the anti-gay slur that earned him criticism earlier this month.
On June 5, Rock was caught on tape by the tabloid news outlet TMZ hurling homophobic slurs at fans during a recent show in Tennessee.
Gazing into one fan’s phone, Rock can be heard yelling, “F–k your iPhone, yeah!” in the video clip. He then turns to the crowd and yelled, “You f–king f—-ts with your iPhones out!”
Rock was barraged with criticism on social media from people offended by the homophobic slur. But just as the controversy appeared to be dying down, the 50-year-old musician put his foot in his mouth again, reports the New York Post.
“If Kid Rock using the word f—-t offends you, good chance you are one,” he tweeted, attributing the statement to his real name, Bob Ritchie. He added: “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.”
“Someone with gay friends wouldn’t use that word as an insult,” wrote one of Rock’s critics. “Enjoy the continued loss of fans and income.”
“Cool can you also ask him to write decent music someday?” quipped another, highlighting Rock’s referencing of himself in the third person.
“I am not gay, but my child is. & that term doesn’t offend me as much as it cuts my heart,” tweeted another. “[I]t’s hateful rhetoric, a hate-filled term. You know it. Trying to spin it as ‘cute’ is even uglier.”
See also:
Rochester residents report their Pride flags have been torn, bent, or burned
Wisconsin governor prohibits government funds from being used to pay for conversion therapy
Wisconsin governor prohibits government funds from being used to pay for conversion therapy
More from Metro Weekly: