Kid Rock ousted from Nashville Christmas parade and replaced with local hero James Shaw Jr

Kid Rock was removed as the 'Grand Marshal' for the Nashville Christmas parade at the last minute and replaced with Antioch Waffle House shooting hero James Shaw Jr.

Back in April, Shaw Jr became a national hero in the US after he wrestled an AR-15 rifle from a gunman who had opened fire in a branch of Waffle House in Tennessee, where four people had already been shot dead but Shaw's action potentially saved numerous other lives.

This wasn't confirmed until the day before the parade happened and came in the wake of Kid Rock's comments about ABC talk show host Joy Behar.

When speaking to Steve Doocy of Fox News on the 47-year-old attempted to discuss the current political divide in America but managed to completely undo any goodwill he had expressed.

People need to calm down, get a little less politically correct and I would say you know, love everybody. Except, screw that Joy Behar bitch.

Doocy did apologise for what Rock had said and it remains unclear as to why he chose to lash out at Behar, other than her being an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, someone Rock has close ties to.

The organiser of the parade didn't cite Rock's comments about Behar as the reason why he was removed but in a statement, they said that they felt that Shaw "represented the spirit of Nashville."

The 65th Nashville Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 1 will not feature Kid Rock, who had previously volunteered to serve as its Grand Marshal.  

Parade organisers feel that the grand marshal should personify the spirit of the Nashville community and have invited James Shaw, Jr., who became a community hero after stopping a shooting at a local Waffle House earlier this year, to be honoured.

The parade is a fun family tradition that also raises money for worthy charitable causes. We appreciate the hundreds of community volunteers who are working hard to make this year’s parade another great event.

Kid Rock had volunteered himself as the Grand Marshal but had encountered some opposition, with Nashville's mayor expressing reservations about the singer's involvement, as reported by WSMV.

In contrast. local businessman Steve Smith protested the change and according to Mashableand had asked for his donation to the parade to be refunded.

Rock eventually confirmed that despite being in attendance he wouldn't be in the parade but that the day wasn't about him.

Shaw hinted on Twitter that he has some exciting news to announce before eventually confirming his involvement.

However, when people started to think about it, the obvious question was, 'why wasn't Shaw the Grand Marshal in the first place?'

HT Mashable

More: Parkland gun control activists had breakfast with the Waffle House hero and they were all thrilled