UPDATE:When the dust settled, James Shaw Jr. was grand marshal of the Christmas Parade.

Kid Rock is officially out as grand marshal of Saturday's Nashville Christmas Parade.

But he might show up anyway, even though sponsors have invited Waffle House mass shooting hero James Shaw Jr. to be the new grand marshal.

Late Friday three of the parade's main organizers stripped Rock of the title after the music star made controversial comments that morning, which quickly caused a public backlash and led Nashville's mayor to threaten sitting out of the event.

A split decision

But there's a split among the parade's sponsors over the decision. Steve Smith, the owner of several Lower Broadway bars that are co-organizers of the parade, vowed that Rock will be at the parade and will remain the grand marshal.

Top parade organizers — Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Piedmont Natural Gas and Tennessee Holiday Productions — announced the decision to part ways with Rock for the 65th annual parade in a joint statement.

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"Parade organizers feel that the grand marshal should personify the spirit of the Nashville community and have invited James Shaw, Jr., who became a community hero after stopping a shooting at a local Waffle House earlier this year, to be honored," the statement said.

"The parade is a fun family tradition that also raises money for worthy charitable causes. We appreciate the hundreds of community volunteers who are working hard to make this year’s parade another great event.”

Other parade sponsors include Tootsie's and several other Lower Broadway honky-tonk bars owned by Smith, who is a business partner with Rock on the recently-opened Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse. Proceeds go to the Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Smith said Rock will be in the parade and keep the title.

"Until someone reimburses us, he will be in the parade tomorrow morning and he will be the grand marshal," Smith told reporters via conference call.

"All this got started over something stupid, and I can’t believe it got this far. I’m sorely disappointed in how far this got," Smith said. "I don’t know why the city is all up in arms about this. I guarantee you the public will stand behind Kid Rock."

When asked if this controversy would affect Smith’s participation in future years, he said, “Maybe St. Jude (Children’s Hospital) needs some money.”

FROM EARLIER TODAY:Nashville Mayor David Briley leaning toward skipping Christmas parade if Kid Rock is still Grand Marshal

The move comes after Rock, whose real name is Robert James Richie, appeared on Fox & Friends Friday morning and, in remarks, seemed to downplay complaints about racism and homophobia as political correctness. He also called television personality Joy Behar, co-host of The View, a "b----."

"God forbid you say something a little bit wrong, you're racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, this that and another. People need to calm down get a little less politically correct," Rock said.

"I would say, 'love everybody,' except I'd say, 'screw that Joy Behar b----,'" he added in his appearance, taped live appearance from Rock's honky-tonk.

Nashville leader threatens to boycott parade

Shortly after the remarks, Metro Councilman Freddie O'Connell, a liberal member of Nashville's legislative body, announced he would boycott the parade if Rock remained the grand marshal. O'Connell's council district includes the downtown area where the parade will take place.

It was followed by Nashville Mayor David Briley, a Democrat, who said he was inclined to not participate if Rock remained grand marshal.

Rock has a home in the Whites Creek area of Nashville.

In a defiant statement late Friday evening, Rock did not acknowledge if he would be at the parade Saturday.

"Mess with the bull, you get the horns," he said. "End of story."

A conservative and outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, Rock has attracted criticism for past statements over the years including yelling, 'F --- Colin Kaepernick" during a concert last year.

FROM EARLIER TODAY:Nashville councilman won't go to Christmas Parade because Kid Rock is Grand Marshal

The Nashville Christmas Parade is not a Metro government-sponsored event, although mayors and council members traditionally take part in it.

Piedmont Natural Gas has historically hosted the Nashville Christmas Parade. But the gas company this year is co-sponsoring the event with multiple downtown honky-tonk bars including Rippy's, Honky Tonk Central, The Diner Nashville, Tootsie's and the newly opened Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse, where Kid Rock is a partner. Each is owned by Smith. The parade has a long list of other sponsors as well.

Rock was selected as grand marshal by the coalition, not Metro.

After Rock's comments on Fox News, Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy immediately apologized on air.

Rock corrected himself, saying "I mean: lady." Noting that he was joking, he said, "We all love this country and let's have different ideas but try to move forward and be more together. At the end of the day, we're all Americans."

It's unclear to what degree he was joking.

When Doocy asked him if he was apologizing for the language he used towards Behar, Kid Rock said, "I apologize for the language, not the sentiment."

Past grand marshals of the Nashville Christmas Parade have included country music stars Brenda Lee, Roy Acuff, Kitty Wells, Dottie West, Jerry Reed and Charlie Daniels.

Last year, Nashville Predators hockey player Mike Fisher served as the parade's grand marshal.

The parade begins Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at the corner of First Avenue North and Brandon Street.

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WAFFLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS:Video debut: Kid Rock joins country stars to celebrate 'Waffle House Christmas'

Mariah Timms contributed to this reporting. Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.