Musician Kid Rock has apparently launched his bid for the US Senate this week, addressing a crowd of his fans at a concert in Detroit, Michigan.
The entertainer—real name Robert Ritchie—was introduced as “the next Senator of the great state of Michigan, Kid Rock” as he entered the Little Caesars Arena.
Ritchie didn’t announce any proposed policies—but did make some pretty disparaging comments about the LGBT+ community.
“And why these days is everything so gay?" Ritchie asked the crowd.
“Gay rights. Transgender this and that. I say let gay folks get married if they want and I’m not even close to a death trap."
Ritchie continued on, making reference to the recent ‘bathroom bill’ debates in Texas and North Carolina—firmly planting himself in the anti-transgender camp.
“But things shouldn’t be this complicated. And, no, you don’t get to choose, because whatever you have between your legs should determine the bathroom that you use.”
He added that it was “no secret we’re divided and we all should take some blame. We should be ashamed because we all seem scared to call [Jesus] by his name.
“So, please almighty Jesus, if you’re looking down tonight, please guide us with your wisdom and give us the strength to fight.
“To fight the tyrant evils that lurk here and abroad and remind us all we are still just one nation under God.”
The Detroit Free Press reports that it was denied access to the concert after Kid Rock’s publicist accused the paper of printing a negative article about the country rapper.
"You guys wrote a f***ed up story and allowed it to be published. You want a quote, there it is," Karl Webster told the Free Press during a phone call.
The article written by Stephen Henderson accused Ritchie of being “a musician who got rich off crass cultural appropriation of black music, who used to wrap his brand in the Confederate flag — a symbol inextricably linked to racism, no matter what its defenders say — and who has repeatedly issued profane denouncements of the very idea of African Americans pushing back against American inequality.”
