No one was more surprised than Kid Rock to hear about the allegations against his longtime publicist Kirt Webster. Webster ran the firm Webster and Associates and handled clients including Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Billy Ray Cyrus, the Oak Ridge Boys, Justin Moore, and of course, Kid Rock.
A few months ago, Webster was accused of “workplace misconduct” by several employees as well as a former client. According to The Tennessean, the number of people involved had risen to 22 by the beginning of December 2017. Not only did the former employees and clients cite workplace misconduct, they also accused Webster of sexual harassment and abuse. Almost immediately, Webster’s roster of clients shrank until it ultimately disappeared.
Kid Rock recently stopped by CMT to film for their weekly CMT Hot 20 Countdown segment and opened up about his former publicist.
“I would say Kirt Webster has been nothing but great to me and kind to me and helped me out in a lot of situations,” he said, according to CMT. “Every time I’ve been to jail he’s been there to get me out.”
He continued, saying, “I was shocked as everyone else was to find out that was going on and there’s some of it where I’m like, ‘That’s terrible,’ and some of it I’m like, ‘Is that true?’ It’s unfortunate, but it’s great it has come to the forefront. But you just hope the truth comes out.”
Kid Rock has been in the music industry since the late 1980s, so he’s probably seen everything – including a time when “misbehavior” was accepted as part of the norm of the industry.
“In my younger days,” he said. “We always approached things like, you know, we can have a great time and get wild after a show whether it’s women, drugs, this, that and the other, and you’re young and doing it, it’s kind of the handbook.”
Although it was “the norm” back in the day, Kid Rock assured fans that he has never misbehaved, saying, “I personally always treated everyone right and with respect, made sure someone had something to eat or got a ride home. And if you were getting wild, you didn’t treat people badly.”
As for the #MeToo and #TimesUp initiatives, Kid Rock is supportive of them, but fears people might go overboard with their allegations.
“It’s a tough situation. I think a lot of it is great, but I also think it’s being taken advantage of … Whoever’s not done something stupid at one point in their life cast the first stone, especially all you Christians out there,” he said.
Watch a preview of Kid Rock’s interview with CMT below.