Garth Brooks responds to Bud Light backlash, promotes 'inclusiveness'
By: USA TODAY
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Joy AshfordUSA TODAY
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
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Still can't deny the fact that the vast majority of the electorate don't agree with his opinion
Well his point is a good one. If you are running a bar, give your customers their choice of beer, etc. Forget the stupid politics ... drink beer and have a good time.
Where do anti-LGTBQ activists get off thinking they can cancel anyone and anything for not also being stridently anti-LGTBQ?
I don’t know, the more the merrier.
And, ultimately, what is the point? These same people will turn around and quip 'live and let live' when something they value is challenged.
snowflakes
At this time a year with global warming?
yep, always melting
down to their potential
N Y so many allow the small minds of so few ta be the determiners of what it is they get to do
What office is Garth Brooks running for?
What opinion do you mean? What vast majority? Where are you getting your information? According to this poll , a vast majority of Americans support legislation prohibiting discrimination against trans people.
What is the gop's final solution to their LGTBQ problem?
So then, what is your problem with Bud Light? With Garth?
Do you even have a point or are you just trolling?
Garth has always been inclusive. Don't like it? Stay home...
The song from the article-
Garth Brooks: We Shall Be Free
Who knew that Garth had fans here?
I like music because it can reach over boundaries and cause one to view things from a different perspective.
They still offer Budweiser , though, so they’re not too pissed off at Anheuser-Busch.
Was it Brooks or his alter ego...
That was just weird.
I heard Chris Gaines might mount a stadium tour...
Odd. I was told by the experts here that the boycott failed and was meaningless. Here it is months later and progressives are still whining about it.