Why Did Kid Rock Punch Tommy Lee at 2007 MTV VMAs?

Why did Kid Rock punch Tommy Lee at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony?

The MTV Video Music Awards has had its fair share of drama over the years and some of it has taken place offstage or behind the scenes. But one of the more notorious dust-ups to have occurred at the MTV VMA's took place in 2007 when Kid Rock landed a punch on Tommy Lee in the crowd during an Alicia Keys performance that was happening onstage. Security then managed to separate the two musicians, but not before the altercation soon became the talk of the ceremony.

The ceremony was talking place at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. After the scuffle, Lee was escorted out of the venue by security while MTV reported that Rock was allowed to leave of his own volition. However, the musician's punch did come with consequences as Rock was cited for misdemeanor battery for punching Lee.

What Led to the Kid Rock-Tommy Lee Altercation?

According to Rock, this was not a spontaneous reaction. The singer appeared on Los Angeles' Kevin and Bean Show on 106.7 KROQ where he told the hosts (as shared by People), “It’s been going on for five years. I did what any man would do, any man across the country, across the world would do.”

Within the chat, Rock recalled Lee taunting him by "e-mailing me a lot of horrendous things" during the period in which he was divorcing from Pamela Anderson. "it was extremely disrespectful."

Lee had previously been married to the former Baywatch star between 1995-1998, while Rock had a short-lived marriage with Anderson as well between July and December of 2006. So the split from Anderson for Rock was still fairly fresh at the time of the altercation.

Reflecting on that period where Lee was taunting him, Rock told the radio hosts, “I calmly told him, … Listen, I will see you again … and that was the end of it, because I don’t talk, you know.”

Why Did Kid Rock Punch Tommy Lee?

There are multiple witness accounts with varying stories of what happened when Rock punched Tommy Lee. But it appears as though the musician had left the table he was sitting at during the VMAs and Lee had spotted Diddy and he and illusionist Criss Angel came over to speak with the rap mogul.

“From our vantage point it, looked like Tommy Lee went over to say hello to P. Diddy ’cause Kid Rock was out of his seat,” former MTV personality Carson Daly told Today. “Kid Rock came back to his seat and all hell broke loose.”

Rap producer Rich Nice told the Associated Press (per Today) that he thought Lee had instigated the conflict by saying something to Rock. He shared, “It looked like Tommy Lee initiated it because Kid Rock was ignoring him. And Tommy Lee kind of antagonized him. And then when Tommy Lee stood up, it looked a little weird, like ‘Yo, what?’ When Tommy stands up is when Kid hit him the first time with a backhand and then Tommy Lee looked like he was trying to get at him to aggressively retaliate and then Kid Rock hits Tommy Lee again — bong.”

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While it was not clear what Lee may have said, Rock was ready to respond.

“This was unavoidable. I had to do what I had to do because this was a long time coming. You know, I came back from the bathroom and he was sitting right there. It was even more disrespectful after everything he’s said, I was like that’s enough, that’s it,” Rock told The Kevin and Bean Show.

“it kills me just to be associated with, to have my name in a sentence with him, it honestly destroys me,” he added.

Footage of the altercation was captured by TMZ and can be viewed below.

Kid Rock-Tommy Lee Altercation at 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (per TMZ)

What Tommy Lee Said About the Altercation

After the incident, Lee shared his thoughts through his website. He offered, "Here I am minding my own biz [when] I get a tap on the shoulder from Kid Pebble … i stand up and embrace him with a semi hug and say 'Hey dude … What up??' He punches me in the face … well if ya wanna call it that!? … more like a bitch slap! … Wuss!!”

The Motley Crue drummer added, "i go to knock this jealous no career havin country bumpkin the f— OUT … and before I can have a meeting with my fist and his ugly ass mug … security guards … NOT MINE at the Palms grab me and haul my ass outta the award show threatening me that if I move they’ll break my arm … yeah whatever!!”

Speaking to The Mikey Morning Show on San Diego's Rock 106.3 (as shared by Metal Underground), Rock mocked Lee for sharing his account on his website. "Did you see my blog?," the rap-rocker asked, getting a "no" in response. "You know why? Cause I don't talk. And he's doing what he does best, he's talking. I mean, this is what stars all seem to be doing. And I really can't say a lot about it — my attorneys told me not to, obviously — but I think there's enough eyewitnesses there to say what happened and of course he has a different story which makes perfect sense."

Was It REALLY About Pamela Anderson?

In his radio appearances, Kid Rock downplayed the notion that the scuffle between he and Tommy Lee had anything to do with their mutual ex Pamela Anderson.

“It has the farthest thing to do from that,” Rock said to The Kevin and Bean Show. “If he’s smart he’ll be like you know down deep you had it coming. Just leave it alone now. Go your own way.”

“The best thing I ever did was I filed for that divorce. You have to go through these things to realize that, you know. I was in love with her. I went through it, I did what I had to do, but thank God I got out of it.”

He also added to The Mikey Morning Show, "it has the farthest thing to do from [Anderson] ... It had zero to do with her. Of course, she'll tell everyone she was the victim in it, like always. "I'm the victim, I'm the victim!"

For her part, Anderson posted on her website at the time (via People), "Funny how things reveal themselves – I’m happy I have my wonderful children and great friends and lovers – Life is good – Vegas is fun. I’m still living the dream."

What Happened in the Aftermath?

The incident did cause a few humorous moments. During the ceremony itself, actor-comedian Jamie Foxx jokingly told the audience from the MTV VMA stage, "Let’s stop all of this white-on-white crime."

Meanwhile, the two musicians were reportedly offered $1 million for a winner-takes-all boxing match by Vegas lounge impresario Jeff Beacher, but according to BoxingScene.com neither accepted the offer and thus a potential real life Celebrity Deathmatch was left on the table.

The MTV Video Music Awards in 2025

The 2025 edition of the MTV Video Music Awards, perhaps fight-free, will take place this Sunday (Sept. 7) airing from 8-11PM ET/PT. LL Cool J will host the ceremony from New York's UBS Arena. This will be the first time the ceremony has aired on CBS. It will also simulcast on MTV and stream on Paramount + in the U.S.

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