Kid Rock this week (Jan. 27) shared a video message that included an update about his upcoming Bad Reputation Tour assuring fans that none of the concerts would have vaccine mandates.
He further taunted the “liberal media” while saying he and his team had “done all our research on this,” seemingly implying confidence in either the tour’s ability to sidestep such requirements or perhaps a belief that the pandemic would ease by its April kickoff.
This should come as no surprise to those familiar with Kid Rock, the musician and entertainer whose real name is Robert Ritchie. The singer who’s dabbled in hip hop, nu-metal, country and beyond has become emblematic in music culture for a right-wing stance aligned with former U.S. president Donald Trump and, amid the pandemic, against mitigation measures for COVID-19.
In Rock’s roughly four-minute message, he suggested his booking agents had ensured no Bad Reputation dates would require proof of vaccination the way concert promoters such as Live Nation now do. He said if any venues did have them, he would cancel the show. He was unclear if he felt the same way about mask mandates, but he did mention his distaste for them.
“There’s been a lot of talk about vaccine mandates in venues,” Rock says in the video. “People saying, I’m not going to that venue ’cause there’s a vaccine mandate, and this, that and the other. Trust me, we’ve done all our research on this, and the consensus says that all this is gonna be done. If there are any of these venues — I’m not aware of any, but if there are any — they’re gonna be gone by the time we get to your city.”
He continues, “If they’re not, trust me, you don’t have to worry. You’ll be getting your money back, ’cause I won’t be showing up either! If you think I’m gonna sit out there and sing ‘Don’t Tell Me How to Live‘ and ‘We the People‘ while people are holding up their fuckin’ vaccine cards and wearing masks, that shit ain’t happening.”
“It’s actually kind of unfortunate,” Rock says. “We actually scratched Buffalo, New York, off the list because of that, and Toronto, Canada. And several other cities we were looking at ’cause, you know, not one way or the other, but I don’t wanna deal with that shit either, and I know that you don’t.”
“And by the way,” the singer adds, “there you go, liberal media, there’s your clickbait for tomorrow, to fuck with me. Kid Rock said this about mandates, he’s not showing up. Fuck y’all.”
Watch the video below. Find Kid Rock tickets and tour info at kidrock.com.
Kid Rock Video Message – Jan. 27, 2022
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