Garth Brooks Will Serve Bud Light at New Nashville Bar Amid Transphobic Backlash: ‘If You’re an Asshole, There Are Plenty of Other Places’
Garth Brooks’ new Nashville bar and honky-tonk Friends in Low Places is opening this summer — and the country star is sharing that everyone is welcome… except assholes.
During a panel conversation at Billboard Country Live, Brooks shared his thoughts by alluding to a transphobic boycott of Bud Light, after the company enlisted transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a marketing campaign.
More from Variety
“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,” Brooks said about his new business. “And yes, we’re going to serve every brand of beer. We just are. It’s not our decision to make. Our thing is this: if you [are let] into this house, love one another. If you’re an asshole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway.”
In addition to some customers refusing to buy Bud Light, a number of bars have suspended their distribution of the beer. Musicians John Rich and Kid Rock, who both own large bars on Broadway in Nashville, have stopped selling Bud Light.
The country star has a long history of allyship with the LGBTQ community. In 1992, Brooks released “We Shall Be Free,” a song condemning homophobia and racism.
“‘We Shall Be Free’ is definitely and 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,” Brooks wrote on “The Chase” CD booklet. “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.”
Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk is set to open later this summer.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
