Kid Rock forced to close down Detroit restaurant after Oprah Winfrey rant: 'We don’t need hatemongering racists in our city'
You don't get away with dissing Oprah Winfrey, and Kid Rock is learning that the hard way after it was reported that his Detroit restaurant was closing down amid backlash following a video of him making profanity-laced comments about the legendary talk show host.
It was announced that Kid Rock had “voluntarily decided not to renew” his licensing agreement for the restaurant Kid Rock’s Made, which served new American bar food. The eatery had opened in 2017, the Guardian reported.
The singer-songwriter confirmed the news on Facebook.
“I appreciate all who have patronized our place and still have much love for the City of Detroit and the people / organizations that I have helped there for years, black, white, whatever, but learned long ago, go where you’re celebrated, not tolerated,” he added. “I guess the millions of dollars I pumped into that town was not enough.”
On November 28, he got drunk in Nashville and was caught making what many regarded as racist and lewd comments about Oprah and Joy Behar, co-host of the ABC daytime talk show 'The View,' on stage at his Big Ass Honky Tonk & Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse.
“Oprah Winfrey is like, ‘Hey, I want to get some white women to believe in this shit.’ Fuck her,” Kid Rock said during the rant. “She can suck dick sideways … And if you say that, you’re like, ‘Hey, well I’m pretty sure Kid Rock is a racist,’ I’m like, OK, fine.”
As a form of an explanation behind his behavior, Kid Rock tweeted the following day, saying, “My people tried to get me to do The Oprah Winfrey Show years ago and her people wanted me to write down five reasons why I loved her and her show. I said fuck that and her. End of story.”
Since it was announced that his restaurant would be closed down, the musician also attacked local and national civil rights figures such as the Rev Al Sharpton, which angered Detroit civil rights leaders.
At a Wednesday press conference Rev Charles Williams II, director of the Detroit National Action Network chapter said: “Good riddance. Thank you, and see you later, Kid Rock. We don’t need hatemongering racists in our city."