Kid Rock Defends MAGA Halftime Show With Kobe Bryant Quote | EUROtoday

Kid Rock is utilizing the phrases of late NBA legend Kobe Bryant to push again towards criticism of his upcoming efficiency on this weekend’s MAGA-themed various to the Super Bowl halftime present.

The “Cowboy” singer shared a quote attributed to Bryant on his social media platforms Thursday as discourse surrounding his involvement within the “All-American Halftime Show” started heating up on-line.

“Learn to love the hate,” the quote reads. “Embrace it. Enjoy it. You earned it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and everyone should have one about you.”

It continues: “Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones.”

Turning Point USA, the right-wing political group based by slain activist Charlie Kirk, introduced the lineup for its present on Monday. In addition to Kid Rock, the roster contains nation singers Brantley Gilbert and Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett, who got here in third on Season 16 of “American Idol.”

Plans for the occasion started shaping up in October of final yr, amid conservative backlash to the NFL’s collection of Latin pop celebrity Bad Bunny because the official headliner for the Super Bowl halftime present, set to happen this Sunday in Santa Clara, California.

A Puerto Rican native, Bad Bunny sings predominately in Spanish and has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigrants, as evidenced by his headline-making speech finally weekend’s Grammy Awards.

In an announcement, Kid Rock stated he and different “All-American Halftime Show” performers have been “approaching this show like David and Goliath” earlier than taking direct intention at Bad Bunny, who has been recognized to embrace gender-fluid trend.

“He’s said he’s having a dance party, wearing a dress, and singing in Spanish? Cool,” he stated, per Variety. “We plan to play great songs for folks who love America.”

As Kid Rock has amped up his criticism of Bad Bunny and the NFL, his track “Cool, Daddy Cool” started making the rounds on-line. The monitor, which appeared on the soundtrack of the 2001 movie “Osmosis Jones,” incorporates the lyrics: “Young ladies, young ladies, I like ’em underage … See some say that’s statutory/But I say it’s mandatory.”

“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin alluded to Kid Rock’s incendiary lyrics in a Friday phase through which she and different hosts defended Bad Bunny.

“So, if that’s more American, go for it,” Hostin stated, earlier than co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin deemed Kid Rock “a very average artist who has mostly kind of gone past his prime.”

One one that doesn’t seem vexed by the brouhaha, nonetheless, is Bad Bunny himself. In a Thursday press convention, the musician stated viewers will “only have to worry about dancing” when he takes the stage throughout the large recreation Sunday.

“They don’t even have to learn Spanish. Better they learn to dance,” he stated. “There is no better dance than the one that comes from the heart.”