The country music star Garth Brooks is defending serving Bud Light at his honky-tonk bar Friends in Low Places in Nashville, Tennessee.
Brooks Stands By Bud Light
During the honky-tonk’s grand opening last Thursday, Brooks told Fox News that he decided to serve Bud Light at the establishment because of one question.
“How do you want to be treated?” he asked.
Bud Light cost its parent company Anheuser-Busch $1.4 billion in sales last year after teaming up with the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney back in April. Since then, conservatives have launched a highly affective boycott of the beer company that continues to this day.
Despite Bud Light’s unpopularity, Brooks is determined to make his bar an inclusive environment for all.
“So, when you walk in here, hopefully you want to be surrounded with people who want to have fun,” he said. “Nobody wants to be an a–. So that makes everybody get to have a good night.”
Brooks went on to say that there are “two kinds of people in the world.”
“The good people and the people that might have a hard time being that today,” he stated. “I totally believe in people. So, if you have another day where you want to try it, and it didn’t turn out so good, come on back. Let’s try love.”
Brooks’ Previous Defense Of Bud Light
Brooks has been defending Bud Light from the very beginning of the boycott.
In June of last year, he defiantly told Billboard that his bar would continue serving Bud Light despite the boycott.
“I want it 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. And yes, we’re going to serve every brand of beer. We just are. It’s not our decision to make,” Brooks said. “Our thing is this: If you [are let] into this house, love one another. If you’re an a–hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway.”
Brooks later doubled down on this by professing his love for “diversity.”
“Diversity, inclusiveness: that’s me! That’s always been me,” Brooks said while appearing on “Inside Studio G.” “I get it, everybody’s got their opinions. 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,” he continued. “I understand that might not be other people’s opinions, but that’s OK, man. They have their opinions, they have their beliefs. I have mine.”
Related: Garth Brooks Is Opening His Own Nashville Honky Tonk – Here Are The Details
‘Come In With An Open Mind’
Brooks then explained exactly why he wants to continue serving Bud Light.
“I’m a bar owner now,” Brooks said. “Are we going to have the most popular beers in the thing? Yes. It’s not our call if we don’t or not. It’s the patrons call – the bosses, right? Bring ‘em in there, if they don’t want it, then I got to go to the distributor saying, ‘Man, your stuff’s not selling.’ And then the action gets taken, right? But the truth is, it’s those people in those seats that make those decisions. And that’s what Friends in Low Places is gonna be.”
Brooks concluded his rant by saying that his bar is meant to be a place that values inclusivity.
“So, here’s the deal, man, if you want to come to Friends in Low Places, come in. 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. If you ever are one of those people that want to try, come.”
Brooks can keep making Bud Light available all that he wants to, but it’s not going to make customers actually order it. In the end, the people have spoken, and they’ve made it clear that they want nothing to do with Bud Light!
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