“Freedom Fest,” a pro-Trump event in Kentucky featuring Kid Rock that was scheduled to take place this weekend, has been canceled after low VIP ticket sales, according to its organizer, Eric Deters, a failed House candidate and Trump supporter.
In a now-deleted video posted to his Facebook page late on Monday, Deters said he had to cancel the event, “Patriot State Freedom Fest,” which was free to the public but cost $1,000 for the “VIP experience.”
Deters said only six VIP passes had been purchased as of Monday, which was not enough to offset the cost of the event for him, Newsweek reported.
“When I put together Patriot State Freedom Fest, I put it together with the game plan and the idea that I could pay for it with the VIP sales of $1,000 from these hundred people that I interact with on a regular basis that have money,” Deters said in the video.
“Out of all these people that have money that I interact with, who I do favors for all day long, they ask me for something, I never say no. I never said no to these people,” Deters went on, railing against his acquaintances for their lack of support.
“I am never ever, ever, ever, ever doing this event again,” he added.
Deter did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.
Deters, who lost a Kentucky Republican primary for a U.S. House seat in 2024, has organized Freedom Fest for years, with high-profile MAGA figures like Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Candace Owens making appearances. Deters also canceled the event in 2023 after announcing that then-candidate Donald Trump, whom Deters said would headline the festival, pulled out.
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Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.