The trigger points for Sunday night's fisticuffs at the MTV Video Music Awards between Tommy Lee and Kid Rock – which resulted in Rock's being cited by Las Vegas police – was explained in part by Rock on Thursday morning's The Kevin & Bean Show on Los Angeles' KROQ-FM. "It's been going on for five years," Rock (real name: Robert James Ritchie), 36, said of the strained relationship between him and Lee – who, like Rock, is a former husband of Pamela Anderson. "I did what any man would do, any man across the country, across the world would do," he said, adding that "it kills me just to be associated with, to have my name in a sentence with him, it honestly destroys me." Of Lee, Rock, in comments first reported on PerezHilton.com, told the radio hosts, "Last contact I had with him was when me and Pam were going through our divorce. He picked up her Blackberry and started e-mailing me a lot of horrendous things. It was extremely disrespectful." In response, Rock said, "I calmly told him, ... Listen, I will see you again ... and that was the end of it, because I don't talk, you know." But things didn't end there. Talking about the night of the fight, Rock said: "This was unavoidable. I had to do what I had to do because this was a long time coming. You know, I came back from the bathroom and he was sitting right there. It was even more disrespectful after everything he's said, I was like that's enough, that's it." Speaking on his Web site, TommyLee.tv, Lee recounts his encounter with Rock at the VMAs as follows: "here I am minding my own biz [when] I get a tap on the shoulder from Kid Pebble ... i stand up and embrace him with a semi hug and say "Hey dude ... What up"?? He punches me in the face ... well if ya wanna call it that!? ... more like a bitch slap! ... Wuss!!" Lee, 44, then says, "i go to knock this jealous no career havin country bumpkin the f--- OUT ... and before I can have a meeting with my fist and his ugly ass mug ... security guards ... NOT MINE at the Palms grab me and haul my ass outta the award show threatening me that if I move they'll break my arm ... yeah whatever!!" On the radio program, Rock said his beef with Lee has nothing to do with Anderson, who on Wednesday distanced herself from her two fighting exes. "It has the farthest thing to do from that," Rock said. "If he's smart he'll be like you know down deep you had it coming. Just leave it alone now. Go your own way." Referring to his four-month marriage to Anderson, which ended in divorce, Rock said, "The best thing I ever did was I filed for that divorce. You have to go through these things to realize that, you know. I was in love with her. I went through it, I did what I had to do, but thank God I got out of it." Posting to her Web site diary for the first time in two weeks, Anderson wrote: "Funny how things reveal themselves – I'm happy I have my wonderful children and great friends and lovers – Life is good – Vegas is fun. I'm still living the dream." Rock reiterated, "It had absolutely zero to do with her ... I knew it was a bad career move to get involved with her because your life becomes a circus – because that's what she wants is media attention."
