Kid Rock has hit out at Jay-Z, who oversees the Super Bowl halftime show, by claiming he is a diversity hire.

The rapper has spearheaded the performance line-up for the Super Bowl for the past seven years, ever since his entertainment company Roc Nation began a partnership with the NFL.

However, his choice this year to give the job to Latin rapper Bad Bunny stirred controversy within certain right-wing circles, prompting the organisation Turning Point USA to produce its own alternative halftime show, headlined by Kid Rock.

Subsequently, when appearing on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle on February 9th and sharing his thoughts on the Super Bowl, the singer hit out at Jay-Z for his role in managing the performance.

Kid Rock told host Laura Ingraham: “Nothing against Jay-Z, I respect him for his hustle and his music, but it seems like there’s a little bit of a DEI hire going on there.”

The musician referenced the Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) organisational framework, which seeks to promote the fair treatment of marginalised groups within the workplace, a policy which Donald Trump has sought to scrap from many institutions since his second term in power.

Going on to baselessly claim that the rapper was only instated in the role because “Black guys love Jay-Z”, Kid Rock attempted to counter that he is popular in many demographics, but this was the ultimate reason that the NFL chose to work with him.

For his own part, Kid Rock’s halftime performance was met with more controversy than Bad Bunny’s, as he came under fire for allegedly lip-syncing one of his songs. Instead, he insisted during the same interview that the pre-recorded performance was “out of sync”.

He also went on to criticise Bad Bunny’s part in the real halftime show, saying he “didn’t understand” any of the native Spanish rapping that was performed by the Grammys’ most recent ‘Album of the Year’ winner.