An Atlanta jury has ordered Kid Rock and his entourage to pay $40,000 in damages to Harlan Akins, a man they beat up at a Waffle House in 2007, the Associated Press (AP) is reporting. The singer will be responsible for paying $6,000 of the amount, while two of his assistants and his guitarist will pay the rest.

During the trial, Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, denied physically touching Akins, adding that all he did was yell insults. He insisted that it was his entourage who beat Akins up, but they were acting in self-defense. “If we wanted to hurt this man, we could have hurt him very, very bad,” Ritchie also said.

Akins sought $6,000 in medical fees, as well as an undisclosed amount of punitive damages, after Ritchie plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of simple battery in March 2008. However, the jury decided not to award him the punitive damages, and opted instead to give him $40,000 in compensatory damages. The jury foreman cited the fact that they couldn’t place full blame for the fight on anyone, as there was provocation from both sides.

Written by: Karen Benardello