Kid Rock defends decision to perform in snowy Ark

Kid Rock has posted an expletive-laden message on his website defending his decision to perform as scheduled Wednesday night in snowy Arkansas.

Some fans who were unwilling or unable to brave ice- and snow-covered roads to get to Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Ark., had voiced their displeasure on Rock's website.

The Detroit musician told fans that if they purchased tickets to the show and couldn't make it, " You Will Be Getting a Refund, Straight Out Of My Pocket."

Rock said he's "never ripped any of my fans off" and never missed a show.

He also responded with profanity to people who he said accused him of being "greedy" for deciding to go forward with the performance. Rock said many fans drove in poor weather to make the show, as did he and his band.

"It's not easy to tour in these conditions and also be stuck on the road with a teenage son at home and in high school," he wrote. "I make alot of money, no question, but i've never ripped anyone off to do it."

The concert went ahead after a winter storm dropped 2 feet of snow on parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma and three people died in two crashes on an interstate.

Verizon Arena had announced earlier Wednesday that the concert would go on as a scheduled. The arena's general manager, Michael Marion, did not immediately respond to messages left seeking comment Thursday.

Stacy Smith, 36, of Booneville, Ark., and three companions had tickets to the show, but thought better of making the drive, which would have taken them two hours on a normal day.

"We heard they were closing some roads between here and there and were afraid that we might get halfway there and not be able to go on," she said. "We were also afraid of not being able to get back home again and we have kids that depend on us to get home safely."

Smith posted her disappointment in missing the show in a message on the social networking site Facebook but said she doesn't blame Rock for going ahead with it.

"I think Kid Rock did the right thing by going on with the show," said Smith, a rural carrier with the U.S. Postal Service. "His fans paid for him to show up and perform, and that's what he did. . . . I just hope that all of the negative comments doesn't keep him from coming back to Little Rock.

"I will buy tickets to his next show, and hopefully Mother Nature will be a kinder to us."

Rock, who just recently turned 40, is in the middle of a national tour to support his latest CD, "Born Free." His next two shows are in Louisville, Ky., on Friday and Greenville, S.C., on Saturday.