Kid Rock's 20-foot butt-shaped bar sign gets approved in Nashville
Kid Rock will get his butt sign in the end.
The performer, 47, opened a bar in Nashville last year called Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse. The establishment needed permission from the local government to erect a ginormous 20-foot sign outside — featuring a woman’s rear prominently positioned in the design —and the matter was discussed and ultimately approved at city hall on Thursday.
The Tennessean reports that Rock’s signage was easily approved with a vote of 27-3 with three council members abstaining, but there was a discussion about its appropriateness. Councilwoman Kathleen Murphy, who was among the three no votes, said, “We’ve worked very hard as a city to become somewhere that is a tourist destination, an ‘It’ city,’ somewhere that is family friendly.” And she felt Rock’s sign “crosses the line.”
Some of the council members who voted yes to the sign said they did so out of fear of infringing on Rock’s First Amendment rights. Metro Council attorney Mike Jameson agreed with the point, saying that the Wild Beaver Saloon and Nudie’s, two other local establishments, were allowed to put up their signs. “It’s not to say that you would lose the case, but Mr. Rock or his business affiliates might have a legitimate First Amendment challenge,” Jameson said.
A rep for Kid Rock didn’t immediately get back to us with a comment on the topic.
The Michigan native — and big Trump supporter — has called the Nashville area a part-time home since 2005. In 2015, he purchased 102 acres in nearby Whites Creek as a backyard for the 68-acre property — with a multimillion-dollar home — he already owned nearby.
But his time there hasn’t been drama-free. In 2016, his assistant died in an ATV accident on the premises in an alcohol-related crash.
Rock, whose real name is Bob Ritchie, was recently supposed to serve as grand marshal of Nashville’s Christmas parade until, during an appearance on Fox & Friends, he called The View’s Joy Behar a “b****.” The interview took place during a live broadcast at Kid Rock’s Big Ass establishment. Kid Rock was unapologetic over the incident. He then instead participated in the Leiper’s Fork Christmas parade — 40 minutes outside of Nashville — for which Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider, also a recent newsmaker, served as grand marshal.
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