Kid Rock’s Detroit restaurant is closing after profane Oprah rant goes viral — but he says he’s not racist
Kid Rock confirmed that, come April, he will not be renewing the licensing agreement for his Made In Detroit restaurant, his signature eatery at Little Caesars Arena that opened in 2017. The space will instead offer a new concept which “aligns with our community and company values,” said Chris Granger, president of sports and entertainment for Ilitch Holdings, according to Detroit Free Press.
The news comes days after Kid Rock’s drunken, profanity-laced tirade against Oprah Winfrey went viral, with the 48-year-old musician alluding to the drama in a Wednesday Facebook post announcing the news.
“I appreciate all who have patronized our place and still have much love for the City of Detroit and the people / organizations that I have helped there for years, black, white, whatever, but learned long ago, go where you’re celebrated, not tolerated,” Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, wrote.
“I guess the millions of dollars I pumped into that town was not enough. I will let the NAN network and others go ahead and take the wheel now. Good luck,” the Detroit native continued.
Kid Rock was referencing the not-for-profit civil-rights organization National Action Network (NAN), founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton, with whom the rocker has clashed over the years. He added, “Trump 2020!!” before specifically listing a few organizations in Detroit to which he’s donated hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Hours later, he tweeted, “All this BS going on has just go my blood pumpin’ and is only more songwriting fuel for a new record and tour in 2021. I am beholden to no one, no corporate sponsors, no label and I am gonna go the f*** off!” He added in another tweet, “You haters better be shaking in your boots.”
The “Only God Knows Why” singer faced backlash after a vulgar video of him bashing Winfrey, Joy Behar and Kathie Lee Gifford was posted online last week. Kid Rock, who appeared heavily intoxicated, made the statements on a mic at his Honky Tonk bar in Nashville. Many people viewed his comments as racist, something he denied mid-rant.
“Oprah Winfrey is like ‘Hey, I want to get some white women to believe in this [expletive],” he yelled. “And if you say that, you’re like, ‘Hey, well I’m pretty sure Kid Rock is a racist.’ I’m like, okay fine. [Expletive].”
“I’m not a bad guy,” added the musician. “I don’t like Oprah Winfrey or Joy Behar.”
He continued, “They’re like, you’re [expletive] racist, I’m like, you’re [expletive] weird. You call your people, I’ll call mine.”
Kid Rock (sort of) elaborated on his disdain for Winfrey in a follow-up tweet Friday.
A Detroit activist group said it plans to hold a news conference on Wednesday about what it calls his “reprehensible tirade,” according to the Associated Press.
Article via YahooNews