Garth Brooks does not back down when it comes to inclusion.
After the 61-year-old country star said: Billboard During CMA Fest in Nashville last week, Country Live said it plans to sell Bud Light at its Nashville bar after the brand’s transphobic backlash for its social media partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, now breaking its logic even more.
At a press conference on Thursday — announcing a new station on TuneIn Radio’s SEVENS Radio Network — Brooks announced that it has been “always inclusive” and that hasn’t changed for his new bar, Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk.
“I think if you know Garth Brooks, no matter how long you’ve known him, [he’s] It has always been inclusive. “We’re going to need each other, trust me,” Brooks said. fun tonight. “Like when we put this team together for The BIG 615. [station]. You’re going to need all these different abilities.”
“So I think, [with regards to] Diversity, inclusion, I think you think our differences are our greatest strength.”
As Brooks explained in a recent Facebook Live video with variety this week, “That’s me.”
“I think diversity is the answer to the problems that exist here and that are coming,” he said. “So, I love diversity. I welcome everyone. I understand that this may not be other people’s opinions, but that’s okay man. They have their own opinions, they have their beliefs. I have mine.”
And as a bar owner, Brooks has made it clear that he will have “the most popular beers” available to his customers.
“It’s not our decision whether we do it or not, it’s the bosses’ decision. Bosses, right? Bring them there. If they don’t… [they’ll] Tell them your stuff isn’t selling. And then action is taken, right? But the truth is that the people sitting in those seats make these decisions. And that’s what Friends In Low Places will be like.”
“Here’s the deal, man. If you want to come to Friends In Low Places, come. Come with love. Come with tolerance. Come with patience. Come with an open mind. And it’s great. And if you’re one of those people who can’t do that, I get it. If you’re one of those people who want to try, come.”
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Brooks’ comments follow Bud Light’s social media campaign, which featured 26-year-old Mulvaney documenting her gender transition online. The partnership garnered transphobic backlash from right-wing consumers and celebrities, and country star Travis Tritt said it “deleted all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality drive.”
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth reportedly wrote to several outlets that the brand “never intended to be part of a debate that divides people.” Mulvaney responded to the backlash in a social media video: “Dehumanization hasn’t fixed anything in history.”
He wants his new bar to be “a place where you feel safe,” as Brooks explained last week.
“This is not our decision,” he added, before advising any potential client: “Our point is: [are let] love each other in this house. If you’re a jerk—there are plenty of other places down Broadway.