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Kid Rock recorded using homophobic slur during performance in Tennessee

The provocative performer has long drawn scrutiny for public behavior that critics find offensive.
Kid Rock performs before the Daytona 500 auto race on February 22, 2015, in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Kid Rock performs at a Daytona 500 auto race on February 22, 2015, in Daytona Beach, Florida.Reinhold Matay / AP file

Kid Rock was recorded using a homophobic slur during a performance Saturday in Tennessee.

The musician, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, apparently lashed out at audience members at the FishLipz Bar & Grill in Smithville who were recording the show on their phones, according to a video published by TMZ.

Ritchie's representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the video on Tuesday.

Ritchie, whose lyrics are laced with vulgar language, has long drawn scrutiny for public behavior that critics find offensive.

In late November 2019, for example, Ritchie was caught on video disparaging Oprah Winfrey, "The View" co-host Joy Behar and television personality Kathie Lee Gifford in profane terms while on stage at his Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse in Nashville.

In the wake of that outburst, Ritchie was reluctantly escorted offstage by the venue's security team.

Ritchie, an outspoken defender of former President Donald Trump, made headlines in 2017 as he toyed with a run for a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan.