The Seattle Seahawks may have handled business on the field, beating the New England Patriots 29–13 at Levi’s Stadium, but off the field, a very different showdown was unfolding.
Led by Kid Rock
This Super Bowl Sunday, America didn’t get one halftime show, it got two.
While the NFL’s official halftime spotlight went to global sensation Bad Bunny, millions of viewers switched over to Turning Point USA’s rival “All-American Halftime Show”.
Kid Rock, 55, closed out the conservative-backed livestream after performances from Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett. The event was billed as a cultural alternative to the NFL’s mainstage spectacle.
But within seconds of taking the stage, viewers began pointing out the same issue.
Many accused the rocker of lip-syncing.
“Nice lip syncing,” one viewer wrote.
“Did Kid Rock just badly lip sync through his song? Or was my stream messed up?” another asked.
“So was that a bad lip sync job by Kid Rock? Or was my stream messed up? Thank you for your attention to this matter,” a third added.
”He didn’t do anything…”
Others didn’t hold back.
“Did Kid Rock do like a minute of lip sync and dip, LOL?”
“It was a minute of lip sync and then he dipped.”
“Bruh, I thought I was gonna see Kid Rock come and slay. He didn’t do anything but play his song and do a funny dance.”
“It was a**. Kid Rock came out for 45 seconds to lip sync and drop the mic five times while he was still ‘singing.’”
Another viewer mocked the moment, writing: “Kid Rock showed up for one minute and lip-synced every third bar from the first verse of ‘Bawitdaba’ while tweaking in jorts and playing with his fedora, then it awkwardly cut to a classical performance.”
The criticism didn’t stop there.
Ahead of the show, old lyrics from his 2001 track “Cool, Daddy Cool” resurfaced online, including the line: “Young ladies, young ladies, I like ’em underage. See, some say that’s statutory. But I say it’s mandatory.”
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen comment
Clips from a 2001 Saturday Night Live appearance also began circulating again, where he joked about Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who were 14 at the time, saying:
“Why is every guy in America waiting on these chicks to turn 18? … I mean – you know what I say – if there’s grass on the field, play ball.”
The renewed attention fueled even more backlash.
“SO gross!” one user wrote.
“He is a disgusting human being. It’s no wonder the MAGA base loves him,” another added.
Still, not everyone was critical.
“Kid Rock busted out ‘Bawitdaba.’ Unbelievable and totally awesome!” one supporter posted.
“TPUSA halftime performance was worth it. History was made tonight, my friends. Love you, Charlie,” another wrote.
The livestream reportedly peaked at around 5 million viewers before dipping slightly during Kid Rock’s set. At the time of writing, the YouTube stream of the halftime show has racked up over 18 million views.
