A viral rumor is circulating online that the musician Kid Rock has canceled shows in New York following the election of Zohran Mamdani.
Newsweek has contacted a representative for Kid Rock outside of regular working hours via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Mamdani, a state legislator who identifies as a democratic socialist, recently beat out independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in New York City's mayoral election.
While his win signals a major victory for the political left, his candidacy was met with criticism across the political aisle, and critics raised questions about the feasibility of some of his proposals, including free bus services and city-run grocery stores.
Business leaders, including John Catsimatidis, billionaire owner of Red Apple Group, and Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports, have threatened to move their businesses out of New York in response to Mamdani’s win.
Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie and who last had a Top 40 single in 2008, is a friend and ally of President Donald Trump and often speaks about politics.
What To Know
Kid Rock did not cancel any shows in New York over Mamdani, and claims that he did are false.
X has labelled the claims a “viral hoax” in a summary of aggregated posts related to the claim on their site.
Kid Rock’s website currently lists one tour date, which has now passed and was on November 8 in Arizona. He does not have further concerts listed on his website or social media, and it does not appear that he had a New York show to cancel.
The rumor circulated widely on X. One post, from the account @TheRealThemlaJ1 read “Almost a dozen tickets had to be refunded,” which included a screenshot of an image purporting to be a ‘breaking news’ story about Kid Rock canceling tour dates.
That post was viewed over a million times on X, and the account is described in its bio as a “parody,” and the reference to a dozen tickets being refunded is clearly a joke, poking fun at Kid Rock.
This post was shared by the hoax account, Jack Kimble, a fictional and satirical account on X who pretends to be a Republican representative. That post read, “New York, I hope killing all your Ramada Inn hotel bars was worth it because this is going to hurt them bad.”
While some took the clearly false post at face value, others were quick to ridicule the rumor, posting jokes online.
What People Are Saying
@LePaillonBlu2, in a post on X viewed over 60,000 times: “Isn’t he a little too old, for “kid?”
Spencer Hakimian, a podcaster, in a post on X: “Terrible news for Staten Island dive bars.”
Social media user, @canucku2, in a post on X: “I had my car broken into once. Nothing was stolen but two Kid Rock tickets were left on the dashboard. Traumatizing.”
Social media user @smc429, in a post on X viewed over 40,000 times: “How many tickets will Kid Rock have to return?”
What's Next
Mamdani is New York City's first Muslim and Indian American mayor, and the youngest person in over a century to hold the position, per the Associated Press. He will take office on January 1, 2026.