Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Live NationKid Rock has a few choice words for a group of protesters who recently demonstrated against his use of the Confederate battle flag during concerts and want him to denounce it.
A 150-year debate over displaying the flag, seen by many as a symbol of racism and slavery, was reignited after a racially motivated June 17 massacre of nine people at a famous black church in Charleston, S.C. The flag was removed from the South Carolina state capitol grounds on Friday following a vote.
Earlier this week, about a dozen members of Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network protested in front of the Detroit Historical Museum, which has a Kid Rock exhibit, calling on the outspoken rock star to denounce the Confederate flag.
Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly relayed Kid Rock's message to the people in an on-air segment, censoring his remarks.
"This is a quote. He said, 'Please tell the people who are protesting to, quote, 'kiss my'...ask me some questions—I modified that for cable TV," she said.
"Please tell the people who are protesting to kiss my a--…" she quoted him as saying.
Kid Rock, a 44-year-old Michigan native who was born Robert James Ritchie, has used the Confederate flag on stage many times, has been criticized over it before and has defended his choice. It is unclear if he still has it displayed at his shows. He is set to perform next in Virginia Beach on Friday.
"How the hell can Kid Rock represent Detroit and wave that flag, just generating millions and millions in ticket sales, a flag that represents genocide to most of Detroit. I mean, it's simply wrong, it's inhumane and no proper motive can justify the waving of that flag," Sam Riddle, political director of the National Action Network, told reporters, as seen in a video posted by The Detroit Free Press.
Rev. Charles Williams II, president of the Michigan chapter of the National Action Network, called Kid Rock a "home-town hero who is a zero with the Confederate flag."
In 2011, Kid Rock received an award from the Detroit branch of the NAACP and was greeted by protesters opposing his use of the Confederate flag.
According to The New York Times, he said at the ceremony that it's aimed to pay tribute to the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Sweet Home Alabama," which he samples in his song "All Summer Long." Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington had said in 2012 that the band will no longer use it as a stage decoration themselves.
Kid Rock had also said that his use of the flag was not a reflection of his feelings about black people.
"I've never flown that flag with any hate in my heart," the newspaper quoted him as saying at the time. "Not one ounce."