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Kid Rock Testifies in Waffle House Fight Trial

By Laura Strachan, Esq. on September 17, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

And the waffle house fight continues. Robert James Ritchie, better known as Kid Rock, takes the stand over the details of a 2007 waffle house fight that led to the musician being charged with misdemeanor battery, resulting in a sentance of probation and anger management classes. Kid Rock is now testifying in the civil case against him, in which the defendant seeks $6,000 in medical bills, and an unspecified amount of damages for pain and suffering. The defendant in the case is music promoter Harlan Akins.

According to the New York Post, Kid Rock claims that he was provoked by Akins. Taking the stand in his own defense, the 39 year-old Ritchie told the Atlanta court that Akins made verbal threats of violence at him, and any physical action he my have take was in his own self defense.

Harlan Akins claims that members of Kid Rock's entourage physically removed him from the booth he was eating at, and then proceeded to "stomp and beat him" and also destroy his cell phone. Akins is also suing the five members of the entourage involved in the fight. Kid Rock was eating at the restaurant following a concert in Atlanta.

Self defense is one of the most popular defenses to a charge of violence. In pleading this defense, Kid Rock is admitting that he did, in fact, hit Akins but that he has a valid reason for his actions. Should the court believe that he was adequetly provoked (which usually requires a showing of a fear of pending physical harm) then it can serve as a complete defense to the charges against him. Working against this defense is the fact that he met any potential threat with the help of five other people -- making the fight unfair, and the response disproportionate to the intial threat. The Kid Rock waffle house case has been going on since 2007, hopefully his testimony in the civil suit will be the final step in resolving the matter.

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