Boo-hoo.
Via The Comeback:
The NHL created a whole lot of backlash Tuesday with its announcement of Kid Rock as the featured 2nd intermission performer at the upcoming All-Star Game on Feb. 18.
Kid Rock, or Robert James Ritchie, has earned five Grammy nominations and sold over 25 million albums in the U.S., and he does have a new album to promote (Sweet Southern Sugar, released in November). But Ritchie has also garnered a lot of political attention with his endorsement of Donald Trump, his right-wing speeches at concerts, and even his brief flirtation with running for a U.S. Senate seat.
Beyond that, his highest-profile musical successes are a while back; 2010’s Born Freewas his last album to go platinum, and his two latest albums haven’t even gone gold yet. So there’s been substantial criticism of this move both from political and relevance angles.
Here’s some of it:
artists the nhl could have booked for all star weekend instead of kid rock:
– literally any elvis impersonator
– the jonas brothers
– the ghost of frank sinatra
– a roomba with an ipod attached to it— aspiring bachelor contestant (@goalietandem) January 17, 2018
Minorities, people of color and women already feel like the NHL doesn’t gaf about them. Having Kid Rock as the All-Star game entertainment just underlies that point.
— Hemal Jhaveri (@hemjhaveri) January 17, 2018
Kid Rock will be headlining the entertainment for the NHL All Star game along with Tomi Lahren rapping, the woman who wore the MAGA dress singing, and Scott Baio pucking himself.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) January 17, 2018
Kid Rock, noted racist, performs at event in which one of the teams is captained by the NHL’s only ever minority superstar, who gets pelted with racist tweets every time he wins a playoff series.
Gee, why can’t the NHL expand its viewership?
— Zacahary (@ZWal93) January 17, 2018