What Kid Rock's Exes Have Said About Him

Kid Rock isn't exactly known for mincing words — especially when it comes to his tragic dating history over the years. "I've met some really nasty women in this lifetime, and those types of women I have no type of respect for," he once declared during a 2000 interview with Rolling Stone. "And I've met the same type of woman a few times, and it might be my own fault for jumping into that situation, but it's still a nasty f***ing type of woman. It's a f**king life-sucking b***h, and there's quite a few of them out there." (And who said chivalry is dead?!) 

Rest assured, however, some of Kid Rock's exes have some less-than-stellar things to say about him, too. Over the years, Pamela Anderson has let it all hang out about her tumultuous, on-again-off-again relationship and subsequent fast-and-furious marriage to the rock star. Meanwhile, Kelley South Russell, the mother of Kid Rock's only child, has let her attorneys and even their son Robert James Ritchie Jr.'s tragic real-life story do the talking for her.

Pamela Anderson is perhaps Kid Rock's most notable ex, and she's not afraid to air out their dirty laundry one bit. While the real reason her marriage to Kid Rock failed is still up for debate, Anderson announced during a 2023 appearance on "The Howard Stern Show" that she knew she had made a mistake by marrying him almost immediately (via Billboard). "That's terrible, I know it's embarrassing," she added. YIKES.

In the confines of her memoir, "Love, Pamela" (via Rolling Stone), Anderson also opened up about coming face-to-face with her second ex-husband at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. "I saw Bob [Kid Rock] on the red carpet and he looked at me and said, 'Look what the cat dragged in,'" she recalled. Unfortunately, however, the drama didn't end there. Shortly after Anderson presented an award on stage to Kanye West, Kid Rock slapped Tommy Lee in the face, leading to an all-out brawl in the audience. As for Anderson, she walked out of the awards show and never looked back. She hasn't spoken to Kid Rock since.

We would also be completely remiss not to mention Anderson's 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, wherein she delivered the dig of all digs. "When he was with me, he didn't hunt. I don't think he was very Republican, but now he is. Oh well," she said about Kid Rock's MAGA rocker transformation. Alexa, play "Cowboy" by Kid Rock. 

Meanwhile, Kelley South Russell made all of her feelings about her high school flame and father of their shared son crystal clear when she sued him for defamation over the lyrics to his 1998 song, "Black Chick, White Guy." In the confines of the lawsuit, Russell's attorneys claimed that the magazines' stories contained "harmful, false and misleading information about" their client, citing lyrics that claimed she aborted a child, and had three children by three different men, per UPI. But make no mistake — Russell didn't stop there. She also sued Atlantic Records, as well as Spin and Rolling Stone magazines, for their part in damaging her reputation. 

Alas, the former couple also duked it out in court over child custody. While Kid Rock was initially awarded permanent custody of their son, Robert Ritchie Jr., Russell took Kid Rock to court in 2000, all in an effort to gain more time with him. In the end, Russell was awarded more time, with the caveat that she would pay the wealthy rock star $25 a week in child support and assume financial responsibility for the child's health insurance and medical expenses. "It's not a matter of he can't afford it — he can — but why pay for something you don't have to?" Russell's attorney, Kathy Vogt, said in a statement to the Detroit Free Press (via ABC News). File that one under shady things you didn't know about Kid Rock.