Kid Rock Not Copping to Battery

Rap-rocker pleads not guilty to charge stemming from October altercation at Atlanta eatery

By Sarah Hall Mar 03, 2008 6:21 PMTags

Kid Rock's not waffling on his plea when it comes to a battery charge.

The rap-rocker pleaded not guilty Monday to a misdemeanor count of simple battery stemming from a fight at an Atlanta-area Waffle House last October.

Rock, 37, did not appear in court and had his attorney, Darryl Cohen, enter the plea on his behalf.

The singer (real name: Robert Ritchie) and members of his entourage ran into trouble at the breakfast-purveying chain in the wee hours of Oct. 21, following a concert at the Tabernacle concert hall in Atlanta.

While at the restaurant, a woman who was with Rock's group allegedly got into a heated debate with another Waffle House patron whom she recognized.

The two apparently took their quarrel into the parking lot, where Rock and five members of his entourage became involved before piling onto the rocker's tour bus and departing.

Police stopped the bus shortly thereafter and took Rock and his cronies into custody on a single charge of simple battery. Rock was released later the same day after posting $1,000 bail.

During an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show later that same week, Rock maintained that he had been provoked into participating in the encounter, adding that he did not consider himself to be a violent person.

"The last thing I want is that reputation," he said. "I believe in just standing up for things I believe in, and being honest, and sometimes it gets me in a little bit of trouble."