(NewsNation) — The Special Olympics is calling on Kid Rock to “reject” an offensive term used to describe individuals with intellectual disabilities after the singer used the insult during a recent television appearance.
“I watched with deep concern your recent appearance on Fox News with Jesse Watters, where you mentioned you were going to be a ‘retard’ for Halloween. The R-word deeply demeans and harms people with intellectual disabilities. I’m writing to you personally with an urgent request: Please acknowledge the hurt caused and use this moment to stand with us in rejecting that word and the prejudice it represents,” wrote Special Olympics chief inspiration officer Loretta Claiborne.
She urged Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, to use his “voice” and “massive platform” to reject the word.
Kid Rock, one of President Trump’s most ardent celebrity supporters, has become more politically outspoken during the MAGA era. He performed at the Republican National Convention last year and appeared alongside Trump in the Oval Office in March as the president signed an executive order aimed at curbing ticket scalping.
No stranger to controversy
In 2019, Kid Rock was caught on video lashing out at Oprah Winfrey in a vulgar rant while on stage at his steakhouse in Nashville, Tennessee.
Kid Rock drew the ire of Republicans and Democrats for a 2004 Super Bowl halftime show where he cut a hole in an American flag and wore it as a poncho.
The singer enraged animal rights activists in 2015 when he posted a photo of a cougar that he’d presumably killed while on a hunting trip with fellow rock star Ted Nugent.
Go To Source | Author: Sean Noone
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