Kid Rock blames sync issues for Turning Point USA performance controversy
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Kid Rock is reacting to critics who accused him of lip-syncing during Turning Point USA’s halftime show.
After social media was aflame with claims that his “Bawitdaba” performance did not match the video feed, the rocker turned to X to shut down the video.
“My halftime performance was pre-recorded but performed live. There is no lip sync like the haters and fake news are trying to make out. When they synced the cameras to my performance in ‘Bawitdaba’, it did not align as I explained in this video.” Kid Rock wrote.
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Kid Rock addressed lip-syncing controversy surrounding his “Bawitdaba” performance. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
In an accompanying video, he made clear that the controversy was due to a production error and not a fake performance.
“This song is chaos,” he began to explain. “First of all, if I were to lip sync – which I wouldn’t – this would be the last song I’d have to bring with me to do it. We’ve performed this song every night on tour since it came out in 1998. So at the Turning Point event, an early cut was sent to me.” [after] we recorded it, my comment was: ‘sync is off’. “They were trying to get in line… It was very difficult for them because it was obvious that someone wasn’t very familiar with the song… If we had more time we could have made it happen.”
Turning Point USA was released on YouTube at the same time as the Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny.
Kid Rock, a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, shared the stage with country stars Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert and Gabby Barrett.
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Following Kid Rock’s Turning Point USA show performance, lip-syncing allegations broke out on social media. (Gary Miller/Getty Images)
Within hours, clips of the performance began circulating online, with critics claiming the veteran rock star wasn’t singing live.
Kid Rock says the narrative is completely false.
“So I have good things to say, not only about Turning Point but also about the production team they worked with,” he continued. “Nobody’s perfect, they can’t always get it right. But that’s exactly what happens with the haters and the trolls. By the way, most of you know this… Some of you in entertainment might look at this and say ‘oh, the sync is off’. But they had to lie and say, ‘Oh, she was lip syncing.’ And the problem is people spread it all over the internet. I know most people don’t even care, but some people keep repeating it so people think it’s a fact.”
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Kid Rock wore a very patriotic outfit while visiting President Trump at the White House in April 2025. (White House)
“And this continues on both sides,” he added. “They did it to defend Bad Bunny and say he said, ‘You have four months to learn Spanish.’ He was on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ I think he was joking. But they do that so often, especially in the fake news media.”
He doubled down on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” after host Laura Ingraham described the performance as “crazy.”
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“It was out of sync,” Kid Rock said. “Actually, just to have some fun with the haters. I can’t respond to all the trolls, but it will be some fun. My DJ who sang that song with me was not amused.”
“He’s flying in to Nashville tonight. We’re going to do this live in my living room and I’ll be streaming it tomorrow to show people exactly how it works,” he continued.
Bad Bunny performed at halftime of Super Bowl LX. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
He argued that if he had actually been lip-syncing, the mistake would not have occurred in the first place.
“If it had been pre-recorded it would have been very easy to sync.”
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“I’m jumping on stage like a rabid monkey, rapping my song, breathing and my DJ fills in the other parts of the song… In fact, when I saw the rough cut, I told them: ‘You guys have to work on this sync. It’s off now,'” the musician said.
“It was just a syncing issue and I know they were trying to fix it. It was very difficult,” he added.
