Kid Rock on Friday was pulled as grand marshal of Nashville’s Christmas parade just hours after outcry when he called “The View” host Joy Behar a “bitch” in a live interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
According to Nashville News Channel 5, parade organizers decided not to continue with the country rocker as the annual event’s grand marshal since the position should “personify the spirit of Nashville.”
James Shaw Jr., an electrical engineer hailed as a hero after disarming a rifle-wielding gunman during a mass shooting at a local Waffle House earlier this year, has been named the new honoree.
Rock’s exit comes after the Nashville mayor’s office issued a statement saying that Mayor David Briley might skip the parade due to Kid Rock’s involvement.
“When you have the grand marshal of what’s labeled Nashville’s Christmas parade saying hateful things on national television, the mayor obviously does not want to be included in an event with someone like that,” city spokesman Thomas Mulgrew told the AP.
In a statement to News Channel 5, Kid Rock responded to parade organizers’ decision by noting: “Behar has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and when Myself, Sarah Palin and Ted Nugent visited The White House last year, Behar called it ‘the saddest day in in the history of the White House since the British burned it to the ground in 1814.’
“Today I said ‘Screw that Joy Behar bitch.’ Mess with the bull, you get the horns. End of story,” he continued. “I apologized for cursing on live TV, I will not for my sentiment nor do I expect an apology from [Behar] or anyone else who has choice words for me or doesn’t like me.”
Reps for the star, who briefly flirted with a run for a U.S. Senate seat in his native Michigan last year, did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
During an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Friday, Kid Rock told co-host Steve Doocy, “People need to calm down, get a little less politically correct and I would say, you know, love everybody. Except, screw that Joy Behar bitch.”
Doocy quickly moved into damage control, chiding the musician and apologizing to viewers on air. “You cannot say that. We apologize for that,” he said.
“I mean, ‘lady,’” Rock added, and later clarified in the segment that he was “joking.”