Kid Rock Says Supporting Donald Trump 'Canceled All' Corporate Deals but Claims Freedom Is Worth It

Kid Rock says his support for US President Donald Trump has cost him corporate opportunities and invitations to late-night shows, a trade-off he says is worth making for the freedom to speak openly.

In a 21 October interview with Fox News Digital, he named Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon among the hosts who no longer invite him. He also said he no longer gets invitations to National Football League events, but identified no specific cancelled deal or booking.

The artist, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, has been outspoken about his political views for years. In the interview, he said he had expected professional consequences. He also discussed his faith-inspired album Halfway 2 Jesus, featuring his longtime friend Eminem.

Kid Rock Says Trump Support Changed His Hollywood Ties

'My relationship with Trump, yeah, that canceled all the, uh, any corporate deals coming my way,' Kid Rock told Fox News Digital. He said he had been friendly with Kimmel and Fallon over the years, but did not identify any particular show that had cancelled a booking.

The interview did not name a specific deal, booking or decision-maker. Nor did it provide independent evidence that any lost opportunity was directly tied to his relationship with Trump. The claims about the cause of those losses remain Kid Rock's account.

He left open the possibility that the situation could change. 'But who's to say that won't change ... and I honestly, I don't care,' he said.

Kid Rock said he was grateful for the opportunities that helped build his career, despite not enjoying the music business 'rat race'. He now sees the message in his work as more important than industry access. 'I put my country before pretty much everything except my family and God,' he said.

He described the freedom to speak without weighing each opinion against a future booking or corporate partnership as a benefit. 'No radio station. No corporate deal or show or anything, you know ... it's just the biggest, most awesome feeling of freedom that one could ever imagine,' he said.

Kid Rock's Trump-Era Choice Meets a Faith-Led Album

The business fallout was only one part of the interview. Kid Rock said Halfway 2 Jesus grew from a deepening of his faith after he attended conservative activist Charlie Kirk's memorial service with his son in September 2025. He said that Erika Kirk's remarks about forgiving the man accused of killing her husband moved him.

'And when Erika got up there and forgave her murderer, about dropped me to my knees,' he said. He added that the moment brought him to tears and led him to pray more and pay closer attention to his faith.

'Murderer' is Kid Rock's word in the direct quotation. The man was accused of killing Charlie Kirk, and the quotation does not establish guilt.

The album pairs Christian themes with high-energy rock. Kid Rock said his collaboration with Eminem also carried a personal message. The two have been friends for nearly 40 years, though Eminem's public criticism of Trump had tested their relationship.

Kid Rock recalled the rapper's 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards performance, saying, 'At the end of the day, I looked at it like, man, that's his truth. That's how he feels.'

In the album's foreword, Kid Rock said he hoped their friendship might speak to people divided by politics. 'We differ politically and on other things, but we've stayed friends through it all,' he wrote. Their collaboration does not resolve their political differences. It shows, in Kid Rock's account, that the friendship has endured them.

Kid Rock has also accepted that the record may not please every listener. In the foreword, he wrote that he had 'made peace with the possibility that it could kill my career or take me to heights unknown'. The album was released on 21 October.