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Rock, who has hinted that he may run for the
U.S. Senate, is scheduled to perform several concerts as the
headliner at the Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday. The auditorium
had a ribbon cutting last week.
"None of this would be going on if I were not thinking of
running for office," he wrote in a profanity-laced post.
Rock has been criticized for incorporating the Confederate
battle flag into his performances. The Detroit Free Press
reported that Rock publicly announced he was stopping that
practise in 2011.
The Michigan chapter of the National Action Network earlier this
month called for Kid Rock to be removed from Detroit concerts.
Born Robert James Ritchie in the Detroit suburb of Romeo, he
rose to fame in 1998 as his debut album "Devil Without a Cause"
sold some 14 million copies. He gained additional celebrity
through his courtship of actress Pamela Anderson and their brief
marriage in the 2000s.
Rock, who is white, said Monday that his track record of
financial and charitable support for Detroit, a largely
African-American city, speaks for itself. "I love black
people!!" he wrote on his Facebook post.
In July, Rock drew attention on Twitter and his Facebook page to
a "Kid Rock '18 for U.S. Senate" website, stoking speculation
the 46-year-old was considering a run next year. He later said
he would discuss his plans in the following weeks, but in the
meantime would focus on registering voters.
Rock presumably would seek to challenge Michigan's Democratic
incumbent senator, Debbie Stabenow, who is up for re-election in
2018.
According to Roll Call, Rock endorsed Republican Mitt Romney for
president in 2012 and initially supported Ben Carson for the
Republican nomination in 2016 but switched to Trump when the
former reality-TV star became the party's nominee.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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