Kid Rock is under fire from Special Olympics leaders following his use of an offensive slur.

During an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, the 54-year-old musician donned a face mask and provocatively declared he would be dressing up as a “r*****.” Watters responded with laughter, but the audience was not amused and quickly criticized Kid Rock for his insensitive comment.

In response, a representative from the Special Olympics has addressed the controversy surrounding Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie.

In an open letter, Special Olympics Chief Inspiration Officer Loretta Claiborne urged Kid Rock to recognize the damage his words have caused. She implored him to use this opportunity to denounce the term and the discrimination it embodies, stating, “I’m writing to you personally with an urgent request: please acknowledge the hurt caused and use this moment to stand with us in rejecting that word and the prejudice it represents.”

In an open letter, Special Olympics Chief Inspiration Officer Loretta Claiborne said: ‘I’m writing to you personally with an urgent request: please acknowledge the hurt caused and use this moment to stand with us in rejecting that word and the prejudice it represents.

‘You have a powerful voice and a massive platform, and the world is watching. As an artist and cultural figure who influences millions, you can shape conversations and attitudes across this country. 

Kid Rock is facing backlash after claiming he was dressing up as a ‘r*****’ for Halloween

President Donald Trump signs an executive order alongside US singer Kid Rock in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2025

‘People with intellectual disabilities, one of the largest groups of people with disabilities in the world, have suffered generations of discrimination and humiliation. 

‘Language plays a crucial role in that fight. Words like “retarded” and “retard” have a long, painful history of being used to belittle and dehumanize. When anyone, especially someone in the public eye uses them, it reopens wounds that so many of us have worked so hard to heal. 

‘In the 21st century, we’re still continuing to fight for the simplest form of justice: the recognition of our full humanity, a recognition you undermine when you use the word r*****.

‘You have the chance to turn this incident into a statement of strength, to acknowledge the harm, to stand with people with intellectual disabilities, and to help lead the conversation toward greater understanding and respect’. 

Earlier this year, Ritchie sparked controversy after blaming America’s declining birth rate on ‘ugly’ and ‘deranged’ Trump-hating liberal women in another interview with Watters.

Watters asked Ritchie: ‘When you play your concerts, do you ever see anybody with blue hair, armpit hair– female armpit hair? Some of these people we’re looking at, Kid, I don’t know’.

The Bawitdaba hitmaker, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, issued his shocking response, suggesting the alleged lack of sex appeal of the protesters was contributing to the declining birth rate.

Kid Rock, real name Robert James Ritchie, held up a mask before saying the slur live on air, which sent Fox News host Jesse Watters in hysterics

‘I was just watching your clips, and you know, we have this low birth rate in America, and it all made sense,’ Kid, who shared a brief marriage with Baywatch star Pamela Anderson in the 2000s, told Watters.

‘It just hit me right now because who’s gonna sleep with these ugly a**, broke, crazy, deranged, TDS (Trump derangement syndrome) liberal women?’

The musician claimed liberal rallies are made up of a ‘bunch of women that no guy wants to sleep with and a bunch of dudes that want to sleep with each other’.

General fertility rates in the US have fallen precipitously since the post-World War II baby boom, with fewer women than ever are having babies in America. President Donald Trump has floated policies to encourage more people to have children.