But the reveal quickly sparked backlash, as many criticized Ludacris for performing alongside Kid, Jason, and other artists they saw as aligned with conservative politics.
Tagging Ludacris in an Instagram post with line-up, one person said, “This your crowd now? Pretty sad.”
He saw even more pushback under a pinned post from December unrelated to the tour, where commenters called him everything from a disappointment to a “sell-out.”
“WHY are you playing at a MAGA festival that has Kid Rock as a headliner?” one person asked. Someone else wrote, “Another sell out just like nelly, snoop, and [nicki],” referring to how the artists have either performed at Trump events or expressed support for him.
“I’m so disappointed,” another fan said.
Some even said they had started taking action against Ludacris. “Just removed FOUR of your songs off my playlist that gets a lot of traction,” one person wrote in part. “This is inexcusable AND inexplicable.” Others claimed they had unfollowed him altogether.
“Unfollowed and blocked from all my streaming services,” one user wrote, adding, “[MAGA] doesn’t get my money.”
“I hope it was worth it,” one more added.
Ludacris has not publicly addressed the backlash, but a rep for the festival told Rolling Stone that he is no longer part of the line-up. According to Ludacris’s rep, his involvement in the festival was “a mix-up.”
“Lines got crossed, and he wasn’t supposed to be on there,” the rep said.
BuzzFeed has contacted reps for Ludacris and Rock the Country for additional comment. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts below.
