Rap-rock musician Kid Rock defended his use of the Confederate flag after facing backlash from activist groups.
The singer often displays the controversial symbol and uses it as a prop during his concert performances, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Despite the recent national outcry that has ensued following the devastating church shootings in South Carolina, the musician announced he will not alter the set for his performance of “All Summer Long.”
On Monday, protesters held a demonstration at the Detroit Historical Museum, where the singer and Detroit native is featured in an exhibit, and accused him of cultural insensitivity.
In a statement released to Fox on Thursday, Kid Rock said, “Please tell the people who are protesting to kiss my ass.” The protest was led by members of the Detroit chapter of Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.
Reverend Charles Williams II, the president of the group’s Michigan chapter, called Kid Rock “the home-town hero who is a zero with the Confederate flag.”
At the protest, Sam Riddle, the political director of the National Action Network who once pleaded guilty to bribery, spoke to the deadly meaning of the flag.
Riddle said, “How in the hell can Kid Rock represent Detroit and wave that flag just generating millions and millions in ticket sales – a flag that represents genocide to most of Detroit?”
But in May 2011, the Detroit chapter of the NAACP awarded the musician with the Great Expectations Award in recognition of his advocacy for the city.
Outside of the Freedom Fund dinner at the Cobo Center in Detroit, a group of 50 protesters gathered to admonish the singer for using the Confederate flag during performances while burning the flag, according to the New York Times.
“I’ve never flown that flag with any hate in my heart,” Kid Rock said at the ceremony. “Not one ounce.”