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Kid Rock angered some concertgoers on Friday when he lit up at a smoke-free venue, and he’s now apologized, explaining that he was too intoxicated to follow the rules.

The performer was at a Travis Tritt concert at the Andiamo Celebrity Showroom in Warren, Michigan, puffing on a cigar despite complaints from fellow attendees.

Smoking is banned in Michigan restaurants, bars and other public spaces, such as concert halls.

Kid Rock later issued a response to the outcry, attributing his law-breaking to drunkenness.

“I doubt I’m the first one to ever make a bad decision while being intoxicated, so he without fault please cast the first stone,” he said through his rep.

He continued, “My most sincere apologies to the patrons I may have offended, and a big middle finger in advance to all the haters and attorneys who will somehow try to find an easy paycheck in all this.”

The Detroit native even went on to blame fellow concertgoers for plying him with booze, claiming fans kept buying him drinks and he didn’t want to “waste” the alcohol.

Still, Kid Rock admitted it’s “no secret that I do receive special treatment,” which is apparently why venue employees didn’t ask the musician to put out his cigar.

“I worked very hard for [special treatment], and without it my life would be a series of nonstop cellphone pictures,” he explained.

What do you think of his apology?

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Kanye West and Jay-Z are being sued for allegedly sampling music from blues and soul singer/producer Syl Johnson.

Johnson claims in court papers filed in Illinois Federal Court that West and Jay-Z took a portion of his 1967 tune “Different Strokes,” without compensation or credit, for their song “The Joy,” featured on their album “Watch the Throne.”

Johnson contends West had initially sought to sample “The Joy” for his album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” but it never worked out, and then misappropriated it for his collaboration with Jay-Z.

The soul and blues musician is no stranger to suing other artists for allegedly taking his compositions. Among those who have been caught in his legal crosshairs are Wu Tang Clan and Kid Rock, who eventually had to cough up cash to Johnson.

Below are Jay-Z and West’s “The Joy” and Johnson’s “Different Strokes.”

Listen and let us know what you think.

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“The Joy”

“Different Strokes”

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Kid Rock has announced a fall club tour designed to raise money for local charities in struggling cities.

Instead of the arenas he hit this past summer on his Born Free tour, Rock will perform in 10 smaller-scale venues and will donate money to area causes through the Kid Rock Foundation.

Radio station partners in each market will help determine the in-need individuals and organizations to receive proceeds.

The tour coincides with the release of Rock’s new single, “Care.”

“The song says, ‘The least that I can do is Care’ – and I want to put my money where my mouth is,” he said in a statement.

Rock continued, “Everyone knows that Detroit is hurting. But I want to show that even though we don’t have a lot on our own plate, it doesn’t mean the people of my hometown don’t have compassion to share with others all over the country. At the end of the day we’re all Detroit, we’re one country, one family.”

Pretty cool.

The current dates are as follows:

Nov. 16 – Silver Spring, MD @ Fillmore
Nov. 19 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
Nov. 20 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
Nov. 22 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
Nov. 23 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Theatre
Nov. 26 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Nov. 29 – Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theatre
Dec. 1 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
Dec. 3 – Magna, UT @ The Great Saltair
Dec. 4 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory

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Shania Twain wasn’t the only star who had a mishap at last night’s CMT Music Awards.

During her performance of “Collide” with Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow showed off more than just her vocals, flashing her underwear to an appreciative home viewing audience.

Later in the broadcast, Crow acknowledged the wardrobe malfunction.

“People all over America are tweeting that I was wearing a really short skirt when I sang with Kid Rock and that when I got up off the stool, I showed my underwear,” she told co-presenter Sara Evans.

“At least you were wearing underwear,” replied Evans.

Video of the underwear flash (just after 3:10) is below!

Check out PHOTOS of Justin Bieber at the CMT Awards!

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WATCH:

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Kid Rock hosts tonight’s 2011 CMT Music Awards live from Nashville.

Check out the live stream below!

Justin Bieber, Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Gary Busey and Scotty McCreery are just some of the presenters handing out awards to country music’s biggest stars.

Performers will include Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts and Toby Keith among others.

It should be a fun evening, and Gossip Cop will have streaming coverage right here!

Check it out below!

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WATCH:

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Piers Morgan, who announced that Oprah will be the first guest on his new CNN show, “Piers Morgan Tonight” – premiering January 17 – has now revealed his entire first week’s lineup:

January 18 – Howard Stern

January 19 – Condoleezza Rice

January 20 – Ricky Gervais

January 21 – George Clooney and his father Nick Clooney

Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Kid Rock, Rod Stewart, Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, and Donald and Melania Trump have also been booked as future guests.

What do you think of Morgan’s lineup?

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There will be major star wattage at the 2011 People’s Choice Awards.

Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift, Natalie Portman, Katy Perry, Zac Efron and Ashton Kutcher will be among the celebs in attendance, it’s just been announced.

Also expected to be there: Malin Akerman, Julie Bowen, Michael Chiklis, Miranda Cosgrove, Kaley Cuoco, Taye Diggs, Lisa Edelstein, Neil Patrick Harris, Teri Hatcher, the Kardashians, Minka Kelly, Mila Kunis, Hugh Laurie, Zachary Levi, AnnaLynne McCord, Leighton Meester, Stephen Moyer, Conan O’Brien, Jerry O’Connell, Jim Parsons, Pauley Perrette, Emma Roberts and Kate Walsh.

Viewers can also expect performances by Kid Rock and Diddy-Dirty Money.

The ceremony will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 5.

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In today’s lineup, Kid Rock will take the stand, King Kong could take Broadway, and the take for “Halo: Reach” is HUGE.

1. Dwight Howard wants a half billion dollars from his baby mama. (TMZ)

2. Kid Rock is expected to testify today in his Waffle House case. (AJC)

3. Michael Grimm won “America’s Got Talent.” (USA Today)

4. King Kong could be coming to Broadway as a musical. (AP)

5. “Halo: Reach” is the year’s biggest entertainment opening, topping every Hollywood movie. (THR)

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The nominees for this year’s CMT Music Awards have been announced.

Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, and Jason Aldean lead the way with three nominations apiece.

Swift (“You Belong With Me”) and Underwood (“Cowboy Casanova”) are joined by Miranda Lambert (“White Liar”) and Reba McEntire (“Consider Me Gone”) in the Female Video of the Year category.

Meanwhile, Aldean (“The Truth”) and Billy Currington (“People Are Crazy”) will face off against stars Toby Keith (“American Ride”), Tim McGraw (“Southern Voice”) and Keith Urban (” ‘Til Summer Comes Around) for Male Video of the Year.

Kid Rock will host the ceremony live on June 9. The final nominees for Video of the Year will be announced during the telecast, with online voting held during the show.

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In his three-sentence post, Rock said the show the will air live from Nashville and “All I can promise is I will be awesome.”

Last year Rock’s song “All Summer Long” won Wide Open Country Video of the Year. Winners are determined by fan voting.

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Kid Rock must pay $35,000 to three men who sued him over an alleged 2006 fight.

The lawsuit was filed after the men claimed Rock and three members of the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. hip hop group assaulted them outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles.

The alleged attack came after the men asked for autographs.

Today a jury determined that Rock will have to pay a total of $35,000 for the plaintiffs to split.

They originally asked for $15 million.

During the trial Rock insisted that the men’s claim that he’d shouted, “Who wants a piece of me next?” during the incident was not true, since he would never say anything so “corny.”

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The all-star “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon raised a record-setting $57 million — and that figure is still rising.

The two-hour telethon, which aired on every network and dozens upon dozen of other stations, drew the biggest names in showbiz to help the island nation, where an estimated 200,000 people died as a result of the January 12 earthquake.

The event was hosted by George Clooney in Los Angeles, Haiti native Wyclef Jean in New York, and featured poignant reports from Anderson Cooper in Haiti.

Among those manning the phones or giving presentations were Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon, Bill Clinton, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson, Jennifer Aniston, Ellen Degeneres, and Matt Damon, to name a very few.

The fundraiser had several amazing performances by such artists including, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Bono, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Sting, Jennifer Hudson, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Keith Urban, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, John Legend, and Shakira.

The money raised was a record, and yet it still doesn’t include donations from corporations or the performed songs that one can download from iTunes for 99 cents.

The good news is you can still donate by calling 1-877-99-HAITI or texting “GIVE” to 50555.

You can also visit HopeForHaitiNow.org.

Be sure to follow @GossipCop on Twitter for updates, and visit GossipCop.com for the MOST accurate celebrity reporting!

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“Hope for Haiti” airs later tonight, and the array of stars signed up to help the island nation devastated by an earthquake is growing by the hour.

The two-hour telethon, which will air on every major network and dozens upon dozens of other stations across the U.S. and around the world, is being hosted by George Clooney in Los Angeles, Haiti native Wyclef Jean in New York, and Anderson Cooper from Haiti.

So who will you see tonight?

Among those signed up so far are Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Bill Clinton, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson, Jon Stewart, Ellen Degeneres, Matt Damon, and Morgan Freeman, to name just a few.

And the fundraiser has attracted a number of major artists who will be performing as well. That list includes, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Sting, Jennifer Hudson, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Keith Urban, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, and Coldplay.

The music will be available, beginning Saturday, on iTunes and all the proceeds will go to the charities benefiting from the telethon, including the Red Cross, UNICEF, Oxfam, Partners in Health, and Wyclef’s Yele Haiti Foundation.

Gossip Cop would like to know if you’ll be watching (and hopefully giving). We are! 

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According to Taylor Lautner’s rep, the “New Moon” heartthrob will not be participating in the “Hope for Haiti” telethon.

But something that should be music to your ears is the long list of musicians who will be performing during the two-hour fundraiser, which is being aired on every major network and numerous other cable outfits.

In New York, where Haiti native Wyclef Jean will host the show, there will be performances by Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Sting, and Jean himself.

Co-host George Clooney will be in Los Angeles, where Taylor Swift, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Christina Aguilera, Keith Urban, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, John Legend, and Justin Timberlake are slated to perform.

And Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z, Rihanna and Coldplay will hit the stage in London, where Robert Pattinson will lend a helping hand as well.

The music will be available, beginning Saturday, on iTunes and all the proceeds will go to the charities benefiting from the telethon, including the Red Cross, UNICEF, Oxfam, Partners in Health, and Wyclef’s Yele Haiti Foundation.

Additionally, the event will feature dozens and dozens of big stars manning the phones, and Anderson Coooper reporting from Haiti.

UPDATE – 7:30 PM –

The list of celebs who will be answering phones is still developing. Ellen DeGeneres has signed on, with many, many others rumored. Gossip Cop will monitor…

Follow @GossipCop on Twitter, and visit GossipCop.com for updates on “Hope for Haiti”

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Check out the photo gallery from the Las Vegas premiere of “The Goods,” where Will Ferrell joined Jeremy Piven, Holly Madison, Kid Rock, and a host of other celebs.

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Kid Rock truly rocks. The musician sent a $1,500 check to Harry Colyer, a Papa John’s pizza deliveryman, who was recently robbed and beaten by three men wielding a two-by-four and a brick. The attack left Colyer with broken cheekbones, a broken nose, and hearing loss.

When Colyer left the hospital, following facial reconstructive surgery, he was stunned to find a check from Rock waiting for him. “I didn’t expect it and didn’t ask for it, but it was certainly a very nice thing to do,” said Colyer.

Rock had read about the attack while in Cincinnati, where he performed last month. His spokesman confirmed the good deed, saying that the musician often quietly helps those in need.

Colyer, who hadn’t listened much to Rock’s music in the past, is now a fan.