(KTLA) – Garth Brooks will not be pulling Bud Light off the beer list at his new Nashville bar, the country star says.
In a recent interview at Billboard Country Live, the Brooks revealed his Friends in Low Places & Honky Tonk bar is set to open soon in Nashville’s South Broadway District.
“I know this sounds corny,” he told the crowd, “I want it to be the Chick-fil-A of honky-tonks … 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.”
When it comes to the beers on tap, they’ll all be there. Even Bud Light.
“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 a–hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway,” he said of the decision.
Brooks’ comments come as Bud Light and Anheuser Busch have faced controversy over their decision to partner with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Singer Kid Rock is one of the many people who openly decided to boycott the brand, pulling it from his Nashville establishment. A representative for John Rich told Billboard in April that the country singer’s Redneck Riviera Bar & BBQ would no longer be actively promoting or selling the beer, but would serve customers Bud Light upon request until the existing stock was gone.
After Garth Brooks’ comments, Fox News caught up with Rich at his bar to get his take.
“If Garth is serving Bud Light in his bar, that’s fine,” Rich said. “Garth can do that. Garth might find out not many people are going to order it. And 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.”
Brooks’ comments caught the attention of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) who pointed out the “Thunder Rolls” singer’s relationship with Trisha Yearwood.
“I’m sure glad we have Garth Brooks to tell us who is and isn’t a–hole,” he tweeted. “Question, tho: Does it make someone an a–hole if they cheat on their spouse, write a song about it with their paramour, and then publish the duet with THAT VERY paramour? Or does that make for a good person, righteous in their moral preening?”
“Now I delete every Garth Brooks song from my collection. NEVER AGAIN GARTH!” tweeted Robert Cornicelli, who lost the Republican primary to New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino last year.
Supporters of the star weren’t surprised at all due to his track record.
“Garth has been an advocate for civil rights for decades,” tweeted one fan. “Don’t let him being a giant of country music fool you. Remember ‘We Can Be Free’…he wrote that civil rights anthem after the LA riots.”
“Garth Brooks outright saying transphobia won’t be tolerated at the bar he’s opening in Nashville is not one bit surprising. He’s been an ally to LGBTQ folks since the early ’90s. We know Garth has got our backs,” tweeted another.