Special Olympics is making a plea with Kid Rock after the musician said the R-word during a live television broadcast.
Chief Inspiration Officer Loretta Claiborne penned an open letter to Kid Rock after he used the slur while telling Jesse Watters what he was going as for Halloween during an Oct. 24 appearance on Fox News.
“I watched with deep concern your recent appearance on Fox News with Jesse Watters, where you mentioned you were going to be a ‘retard’ for Halloween,” Claiborne wrote.
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“The R-Word deeply demeans and harms people with intellectual disabilities,” she continued. “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.”
Despite once being common, the “R-word” is now considered outdated and offensive, according to the National Center on Disability and Journalism. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed a measure known as “Rosa’s Law” that replaced the slur with the phrase “intellectual disability” in many federal laws.
In her letter, Claiborne mentioned that people with intellectual disabilities are one of the largest groups of people with disabilities in the world. She also said how this population has been discriminated against for generations and still experiences these injustices today.
“Language plays a crucial role in that fight. Words like ‘retarded’ and ‘retard’ have a long, painful history of being used to belittle and dehumanize. When anyone, especially someone in the public eye uses them, it reopens wounds that so many of us have worked so hard to heal,” Claiborne wrote.
“I know this pain personally,” she continued. “Growing up, I heard that word used against me again and again. It hurt deeply then, and it still hurts today. But I’ve also learned that every moment of hurt can become a moment to teach, to grow, and to move forward together. I believe this can be one of those moments.”
Born partially blind and intellectually challenged, Claiborne is a speaker and multi-sport athlete, her biography states. The seven-time gold medalist was the recipient of the 1996 Arthur Ashe ASPY Courage Award and was also the first Special Olympics athlete elected to the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.
Claiborne used her letter to also encourage Kid Rock “to turn this incident into a statement of strength, to acknowledge the harm, to stand with people with intellectual disabilities, and to help lead the conversation toward greater understanding and respect.”
She added, “You have a powerful voice and a massive platform, and the world is watching. As an artist and cultural figure who influences millions, you can shape conversations and attitudes across this country.”
Claiborne ended the letter with, “Together, we can use this moment to build a world where every person is valued and respected.”
Kid Rock’s latest controversy isn’t the first time his language has put him in the hot seat. The country-rock singer repeatedly said the N-word and displayed a gun in a 2024 Rolling Stone feature. Three years prior, he shouted a homophobic slur while performing in a Tennessee bar, Billboard reported at the time.
He later defended himself by writing on X at the time, “If Kid Rock using the word (expletive) offends you, good chance you are one. Either way, I know he has a lot of love for his gay friends and I will have a talk with him.”
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