Kid Rock Compares Justin Bieber to Vanilla Ice: "It's Gonna Be a Very Long Ride Down"

"Cowboy" crooner slams the teen heartthrob, suggests his star is fading

By Josh Grossberg Jun 19, 2013 8:50 PMTags

Would you believe Kid Rock doesn't think too highly of Justin Bieber?

Swinging by The Howard Stern Show Wednesday to talk about his $20 Best Night Ever tour in which he's charging fans only $20 a ticket, the Cocky singer couldn't resist ripping the teen idol, essentially likening him to a certain '90s one-hit wonder.

"Tell me if this is wrong. Justin Bieber…is 100 percent like watching Vanilla Ice all over again. It's exactly the same," Rock told the shock jock, before adding, "Well, as soon as Bieber has a hit, he'll be like Vanilla Ice."

Ouch!

"I hear disdain in your voice for Justin Bieber," noted Stern. "In other words, you hate that end of the music business. Right? This sort of teenybopper pop stuff?'

At that point, the Detroit hitmaker predicted a not so rosy career for the Biebs, who has been making headlines recently for all the wrong reasons—from getting into an altercation with a neighbor and being investigated by police for alleged reckless driving to getting booted from nightclubs for being underage and getting into scrapes with photographers.

Though Rock did express some sympathy for his situation.

"The kid's young. He's got some money. He's got the world in his hands. It's just kind of sad to see him go down this trajectory," said the rock veteran. "It's gonna be a very long ride down. We all know the story. I kind of feel for the kid, to be honest with you."

"He's screwing up," suggested Stern.

"Yeah," replied Rock in agreement.

Just yesterday, Bieber was accused of hitting a photographer with his Ferrari in Los Angeles Monday night then leaving the scene of the accident, though law enforcement told E! News they were investigating it as a traffic collision and not as an alleged hit-and-run.

He's also now being threatened with possible legal action from a paparazzo named Gustavo Garces, who claims the "Girlfriend" singer's bodyguards stole his camera's memory card outside a Miami recording studio on June 5.

Lee P. Marks, an attorney for the photographer, has sent a letter to Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, demanding Justin return the SIM card.

"What Justin Bieber called a SIM card is actually a camera memory card. The memory card has personal photos from my client's Mother's Day celebration, his brother's graduation," Marks tells E! News. "It is his personal property so I am asking for it back!" 

Marks added that he hoped Bieber and his management will do the "decent" thing and return it, but would not say whether Garces will ultimately have to file a lawsuit to make it happen. Bieber's rep is not commenting on Garces' claims.

"Not every young aspiring star is handled as poorly as Justin Bieber," Marks added. "There are other young aspiring stars that get surrounded by the right people and don't do the wrong think. This kid is just out of control."

Kid Rock and Howard Stern might agree with him.

—Reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum