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By Aliss Higham
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Kid Rock has been accused of lip syncing during his alternative Super Bowl halftime show.
Kid Rock served as the headliner for the alternative Turning Point USA (TPUSA) halftime show, with Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett also taking the stage.
Turning Point USA, founded by the late right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, said in October that it would broadcast its own conservative "counterprogram" to the official Super Bowl LX halftime show headlined by Bad Bunny at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday.
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Online Backlash
It appears some watchers weren't happy with Kid Rock's performance, with several alleging he was lip syncing. Newsweek has contacted a representative for Kid Rock for comment via email outside of regular working hours.
Conservative news outlet Next News Network posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Charlie Kirk would not have approved of Kid Rock's pre-recorded Lip Sync Super Bowl performance."
Journalist Ryan Grim wrote: "Imagine that a solid one-third of the country vests all of their pride and hope and dreams in you to carry forth the torch of Real America and you show up and lip sync your one hit while wearing jean shorts. Kid Rock hates his fans. No other conclusion."
Support
Others enjoyed the performance, which was streamed live online and on several right-wing news channels.
Eric Daugherty posted: "WOW! Kid Rock in front of MILLIONS says to give your life to Jesus Christ during the halftime show This whole thing was BY FAR the better performance. It's not close. NFL, you should do better. THIS is America."
Right-wing political activist Jack Posobiec wrote: "The All-American Halftime Show Team was amazing. From top to bottom."
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Another user posted: "The All American Halftime Show Was FAR Better Than The Anti-American Trash The NFL Sponsored. Kid Rock And Others Crushed It. We are Charlie Now."
Trump Weighs In
The NFL chose Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican-born musician whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, to headline this year’s halftime show.
President Donald Trump, who did not attend either event, took to Truth Social during the Super Bowl to criticize Bad Bunny's performance.
Bad Bunny used his halftime performance to emphasize a message of unity. The Puerto Rican star held up a football emblazoned with "Together we are America," as a message on the jumbotron declared: "The only thing more powerful than hate is love." He echoed the same theme during his Grammy Awards acceptance speech last week, where he criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Trump administration.
However, his performance on Sunday did not include any direct reference to the president or his administration. He made history as the first male solo Latin artist to headline the Super Bowl halftime show and the first performer to deliver his set almost entirely in Spanish.
But Trump said the show was a "'slap in the face' to our Country" and there is "nothing inspirational about this mess of a Halftime Show."
"The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence," Trump posted. "Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World."
Prior to the Super Bowl, Trump cricitized the NFL's performer picks, saying of Bad Bunny and Green Day—who opened up Super Bowl LX —“I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible."
Both have been outspoken against the Trump administration.
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