Did California Governor Newsom suspend Kid Rock from performing in the Golden State? No, that's not true: A message posted on X.com by the California governor on his official press office account is satirical. It's one in a series Newsom's staff posted in 2025, mocking and parodying President Donald Trump's social media posts. There is no evidence that Kid Rock has been suspended from performing in California as of publication date.
The claim in a September 21, 2025 post on X.com account @dom_lucre (archived here) where it opened with the California governor's last name spelled incorrectly:
BREAKING: Governor Gavin Newsome announced through his press office that he is suspending Kid Rock from being able to perform in Golden State California despite Liberals claiming that Disney removing Jimmy Kimmel is unfair.
This is an active politician banning the rights of an American citizen. Liberals cry victim as they strike you. Newsom "BECAUSE OF HIS HORRIFIC MUSIC, CALIFORNIA WILL INDEFINITELY SUSPEND KID ROCK FROM PERFORMING IN THE GOLDEN STATE. YOU'RE WELCOME! -- GCN"
This is what the image in the post looked like on X.com at the time of writing:
(Image source:X.com account @dom_lucre screenshot taken by Lead Stories.)
Here is a screenshot of the post:
(Image source:X.com account @dom_lucre screenshot taken by Lead Stories.)
The post appears to be referencing a message the @GovPressOffice account (archived here) shared on September 20, 2025, which read:
BECAUSE OF HIS HORRIFIC MUSIC, CALIFORNIA WILL INDEFINITELY SUSPEND KID ROCK FROM PERFORMING IN THE GOLDEN STATE. YOU'RE WELCOME! -- GCN
September 20, 2025
Here is a screenshot of the post:
(Image source:X.com account @GovPressOffice screenshot taken by Lead Stories.)
Newsom has been using his X.com account to troll conservatives, imitating Trump's all-caps writing to post satirical messages, memes and photos. The post announcing California suspending Kid Rock, a conservative rocker, from performing in the state appears to be a reference to Jimmy Kimmel's show being suspended by Disney and ABC following a joke he made on his show about republicans after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. Kimmel's suspension was major news after it happened on September 17, 2025, as news outlets like The New York Times (archived here), the Wall Street Journal (archived here) and Fox News reported (archived here).
Had Newsom actually suspended Kid Rock it would have been a major news story. A Google search (archived here) found other satirical articles about suspension but no actual news reports that the governor had done so. Similarly, the Yahoo! News index of partner news sites and news services (archived here) showed no legitimate news reports that Newsom suspended Kid Rock from performing in California.
