Kid Rock isn’t worried about any potential disciplinary action being taken against the flight crews of two U.S. Army attack helicopters who did a fly-by of the singer’s Nashville home on Saturday.
“I think they’re going to be alright — my buddy is the Commander-in-Chief,” Rock boasted to Nashville news station WKRN during an interview on Monday.
The fly-by, during which at least one of the Apache helicopters circled Rock’s home, a replica of the White House, sparked controversy online after Rock posted video of himself saluting the gunships. The military said it was investigating.
“What are they looking into?” Rock mused to WKRN.
Rock, wearing a hat that read “Jesus,” recounted the hovering stunt on camera. “It was a level of respect that I got that no award or record sales could ever do,” he said.
In a statement to the Washington Post, an Army spokesperson confirmed the incident is being reviewed. “An administrative review is underway to assess the mission and verify compliance with regulations and airspace requirements,” Maj. Montrell Russell said. “Appropriate action will be taken if any violations are found.”
The helicopters’ fly-by of Rock’s home occurred on the same day as No Kings protests in Nashville, and reportedly originated from Fort Campbell, a base on the Tennessee-Kentucky border. Some attendees of the No Kings march in downtown Nashville noted online that the helicopters flew over protestors. A spokesperson for the 101st Airborne Division, out of Fort Campbell, said in a statement that the aircraft’s flight near the No Kings march was “entirely coincidental.”
The video of Rock saluting the helicopters from his home is just the latest example of the Detroit rapper embracing the role of right-wing rabble-rouser: He captioned his post, “This is a level of respect that shit for brains Governor of California will never know,” a swipe at Gavin Newsom, the foil of Rock’s “buddy,” President Trump.
Over the weekend, thousands of soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division arrived in the Middle East, joining a new deployment of Marines who could become involved in the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran.
