Kid Rock responded on Monday to a joke Conan O’Brien made about him during the 98th Academy Awards, calling it “not a very good one” and using the moment to promote his upcoming concert dates.
O’Brien, who hosted the Oscars on Sunday, March 15, delivered the line during his opening monologue at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Kid Rock Oscars moment referenced in the opening monologue
During the broadcast, O’Brien warned the audience that “tonight could get political,” then added that anyone uncomfortable could attend “an alternate Oscars being hosted by Kid Rock” at a nearby Dave & Buster’s.
The jab referenced Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime Show,” a livestreamed alternative programming event headlined by Kid Rock during Super Bowl weekend that was framed by organizers as counterprogramming to the NFL’s halftime performance.
Kid Rock responds on X and promotes “Freedom 250” tour
Kid Rock replied on X the day after the Oscars, saying he enjoys “a good joke” even when he is “the butt of it,” but adding that O’Brien’s was “not a very good one.” In the same post, he urged fans to buy tickets for his “Freedom 250” tour, with dates beginning in May, and linked to Ticketmaster.
Fox News Digital reported that the singer framed the tour as a show celebrating “America and 250 years of Freedom.”
Turning Point USA also reacts, disputes over audience size
A Turning Point USA spokesperson, Andrew Kolvet, also addressed the Oscars line on social media and in comments to Fox News Digital, saying the group welcomed the “free publicity.” Kolvet claimed the alternative halftime broadcast drew more than 50 million viewers and described it as the “#1 livestream in American history,” though the outlet did not cite independent measurement supporting the figure.
Separate reporting on the Turning Point USA event described mixed reception and noted that publicly visible platform metrics showed viewership in the millions, without establishing a single industry-standard total across platforms.
The Academy Awards broadcast continued with O’Brien moving on to other monologue targets, while Kid Rock’s response remained focused on his tour promotion and criticism of the joke’s quality.