The Special Olympics has spoken out against Kid Rock’s use of the R-word in a recent appearance on Jesse Watters’ Primetime last week, asking the rap-rocker to “acknowledge the hurt caused and use this moment to stand with us in rejecting that word and the prejudice it represents”.
The Special Olympics has condemned Kid Rock’s recent appearance on Jesse Watters’ Primetime last week after the rap-rocker used a disability slur on air.
Appearing on the program, the ‘All Summer Long’ singer said he was going to go as a “r****d” for Halloween while donning a common face mask most recently used to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The country singer turned conservative pundit has a long history of rejecting vaccine mandates and general COVID safety measures, and would refuse to perform at venues that had a vaccine and mask mandate in place.
Following his appearance on the program, vice chair of the Special Olympics organisation, Loretta Clairborne, has been raising awareness of the situation and is trying to turn it into a teachable moment.
Clairborne would later post an open letter to the Special Olympics website, urging Rock to reconsider throwing around words that “have a long, painful history of being used to belittle and dehumanise”.
“I’m writing to you personally with an urgent request: please acknowledge the hurt caused and use this moment to stand with us in rejecting that word and the prejudice it represents,” the letter reads. “People with intellectual disabilities, one of the largest groups of people with disabilities in the world, have suffered generations of discrimination and humiliation. In the 21st century, we’re still continuing to fight for the simplest form of justice: the recognition of our full humanity, a recognition you undermine when you use the word retard.”
The vice chair would go on to extend a personal invitation to Rock to have a conversation to learn “more about the movement for inclusion and respect that has changed so many lives, including my own. Together, we can use this moment to build a world where every person is valued and respected.”
While the r-word had seen a decline during the 2010s, the word has quickly been making a resurgence in recent years as significant figures like Joe Rogan, Kanye West, and Elon Musk have had viral incidents following their use of the word.
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