James Shaw Jr., Waffle House shooting hero, replacing Kid Rock in Nashville Christmas parade is a holiday mood

James Shaw Jr., the hero who helped to stop a Waffle House shooter last April was the grand marshal for the Nashville Christmas parade on Saturday, a last-minute fill in for Kid Rock, whose invitation was rescinded after he made profane comments on live TV Friday morning.

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Shaw led the parade route in a horse-drawn carriage and he was accompanied by relatives of Akilah Dasilva, a musician killed in the tragedy, according to news outlets. In Nashville, Shaw is hailed as a hero for wrestling a gun away from Travis Reinking who allegedly shot and killed Dasilva and three other people in a Nashville Waffle House and injured four others.

You had more than enough room left in this tweet to include James Shaw, Jr.’s name. https://t.co/yfx4pONI4b

— Eric Haywood (@EricHaywood) December 2, 2018

Kid Rock was booted from the parade after he used an expletive to describe Joy Behar during a Fox & Friends interview, according to The Associated Press. As Kid Rock was interviewed from his bar in Nashville, he took a swig of bourbon and lashed out at political correctness.

“God forbid you say something a little wrong; you’re racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, this, that and the other,” Kid Rock said. “And I would say, you know, love everybody. Except, I’d say screw that Joy Behar is a b—-.”

Fox & Friends apologized on air; Kid Rock apologized for the language but not the sentiment. Behar is a vocal critic of Donald Trump. Kid Rock is a Republican and a proud Trump supporter.

After the interview, Nashville Mayor David Briley said he would be “inclined not to participate” if Kid Rock remained the grand marshal, according to Fox 17 News Nashville. Also, Nashville Councilman Freddie O’Connell threatened to pull out of the parade if a change in grand marshal wasn’t made.

“I will not be participating in tomorrow’s Nashville Christmas parade,” O’Connell said. “The choice of Grand Marshal evokes neither the spirit of Christmas nor the inclusivity I think represents the best of Nashville.”

Parade organizers announced Friday evening that the parade would no longer include Kid Rock.

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Proceeds from the parade will go to Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

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