Garth Brooks isn’t backing down from any backlash to his announcement that his new Nashville bar will be carrying Bud Light despite an ongoing boycott of the brand by many conservatives. During his weekly Facebook livestream, Inside Studio G, the country superstar doubled down on his message of inclusiveness.
“Let’s… address two things on it,” Brooks said (via Billboard). “One is diversity. Inclusiveness: That’s me. That’s always been me. We got the same kind of thing on ‘We Shall Be Free,’ people wanting to burn our stuff, and I get it.”
Brooks continued, “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 problems that are coming. So I love diversity. All-inclusive, so all are welcome. I understand that that might not be other people’s opinions, but that’s okay, man. They have their opinions, they have their beliefs; I have mine.”
To conclude his response, Brooks reiterated his goal to make Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk a safe space for everyone. ” If you want to come to Friends in Low Places, come in. Come in with love. Come in with tolerance [and] patience. Come in with an open mind, and it’s cool. And if you’re one of those people who just can’t do that, I get it. If you ever are one of those people who want to try, come! Let’s have some fun. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that.”
Watch Brooks’ full livestream below.
The aforementioned “We Shall Be Free” was inspired by the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Released as the first single from The Chase, the song covered topics like homophobia, racism, and freedom of religion. The track earned Brooks a GLAAD Media Award, but it also became his first single to miss the Top 10 on the Hot Country Songs chart due to an airplay ban from some country stations.
Brooks’ last studio album, Fun, was released in 2020. This summer, he will begin a Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace that currently runs through 2024; grab your tickets here.
