Posted on 02/17/2005 10:32:25 AM PST by SmithL
Apparently, Kid Rock is trying to live up to his rep as an American badass.
The trailer-park rocker-rapper (real name: Bob Ritchie) was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault Wednesday after he punched a disc jockey at a Nashville strip club in the wee hours of the morning.
Rock posted $3,000 bail and was released. If convicted, he could face a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail.
"Everything is wonderful. It was a beautiful night," he commented as he left the courthouse.
His arraignment was set for Mar. 30.
Rock was in Tennessee to attend a memorial service for country songwriter and promoter Merle Kilgore, who died Feb. 6 of lung cancer.
After the service, he repaired to the downtown Nashville adult entertainment venue known as Christie's Cabaret.
At around 3 a.m., the club's deejay, Jerry Campos, exchanged words with someone in the audience and Rock, reportedly under the impression that one of his friends had been insulted, demanded an apology.
Campos refused and Rock proceeded to punch him twice in the face, breaking his glasses and leaving a red mark on his mug, according to television footage from outside the club.
Other published reports indicated that Rock was dissatisfied with the music Campos was spinning.
"Inside the establishment, there was a squabble concerning--I guess--the selection of music," Sergeant James Smith of the Metropolitan Nashville Police said at a news conference. "There are not major injuries, but an assault did take place."
The "Cocky" singer seemed oblivious to the aftermath of the altercation.
"They said I broke his glasses? Who?" Rock asked reporters after his release.
Police said that Rock departed the strip joint through a back door when officers showed up to arrest him.
When authorities finally caught up to the "Cowboy" singer at the apartment where he was staying, he reportedly informed them that he had wanted to sober up before being booked.
Kid avoided another rap-sheet entry about an hour after the club incident, when a Vanderbilt University campus police officer pulled over the musician for peeling out in his Corvette. The officer said he smelled booze on Kid Rock's breath but never gave him a breath test. The officer, who let Kid Rock go with a warning after getting an autograph, was fired later Wednesday.
The Detroit-based rocker is no stranger to negative publicity.
Last month, he was reportedly cut from President George W. Bush's inaugural ball after conservative groups protested his appearance with an email campaign bemoaning his lack of values.
What a nit-wit.
Geez, at this rate he'll never become Man Rock
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