A few months ago, serving Bud Light at a bar would hardly have been controversial.
But after country superstar Garth Brooks announced his Nashville bar would serve “every brand of beer” last week, he had to deal with “quite a little bit of a stir,” as he put it in a livestream Monday.
The musician received backlash online from fans who were boycotting Bud Light after the brand partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in an ad.
“Everybody’s got their opinions,” Brooks said of the online controversy during his “Inside Studio G” livestream.
“But inclusiveness is always going to be me. I think diversity is the answer to the problems that are here and the answer to the problems that are coming. So I love diversity. All inclusive, so all are welcome. I understand that might not be other people’s opinions, but that’s OK, man.”
The country singer also addressed fans who might not want to come to Brooks’ Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk due to his statements.
“So, here’s the deal, man, if you want to come to Friends in Low Places, come in. But come in with love, come in with tolerance, patience. Come in with an open mind, and it’s cool,” he said.
“And if you’re one of those people that just can’t do that, I get it,” Brooks added. “If you ever are one of those people that want to try, come.”
Garth Brooks said his bar would serve ‘every brand of beer’
Brooks first announced he would serve Bud Light at his Nashville bar at a Billboard event last week.
“I want (the bar) to be a place you feel safe in, I want it to be a place where you feel like there are manners and people like one another,” the singer said. “And, yes, we’re going to serve every brand of beer. We just are.”
Brooks’ statement comes as celebrity bar owners John Rich and Kid Rock have pulled Bud Light from their Nashville businesses after the brand’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Dylan Mulvaney addresses backlash:‘Dehumanization has never fixed anything’
In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Rich said, “If Garth is serving Bud Light in his bar, that’s fine. Garth can do that. Garth might find out not many people are going to order it.”
“At the end of the day, you have to put things in your establishment that people are going to purchase if you’re going to run a successful business. So he might find that out,” Rich added.
Brooks has long been an ally to the LGBTQ community
Garth Brooks has been an ally to the LGBTQ community dating back to the 1990s. His 1992 song “We Shall Be Free” spoke out against homophobia and racism.
In the liner notes for his album “The Chase,” Brooks called the record “easily the most controversial song I have ever done. A song of love, a song of tolerance from someone who claims not to be a prophet but just an ordinary man,” per Variety.
Bud Light Controversy:Garth Brooks threatened with boycott for comments amid Bud Light, Dylan Mulvaney controversy
“I never thought there would be any problems with this song. Sometimes the roads we take do not turn out to be the roads we envisioned them to be. All I can say about ‘We Shall Be Free’ is that I will stand by every line of this song as long as I live. I am very proud of it,” he said.
Contributing: Naledi Ushe, Charles Trepany
