Current:Home > InvestGarth Brooks responds to Bud Light backlash: "I love diversity" -WealthMap Solutions
Garth Brooks responds to Bud Light backlash: "I love diversity"
View
Date:2025-04-15 04:31:26
Country singer Garth Brooks caused some controversy last week by saying he'd serve Bud Light at his new bar, Friends in Low Places, in Nashville, Tennessee.
"We're going to serve every brand of beer. We are," the star said at a live Q&A event with Billboard on June 7. "It's not our decision to make."
Brooks told the audience that he wants to encourage inclusive behavior at his bar and that those who do not wish to comply can take their business elsewhere.
"Our thing is this: If you come into this house, love one another," the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee said. Otherwise, he added, "there are plenty of other places on Lower Broadway to go."
Bud Light, a top-selling brand of beer in the U.S., has recently come under fire after partnering with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney, a trans rights activist and actress, causing conservative backlash. Singers like Kid Rock and Travis Tritt called for a boycott of the beer.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI), Bud Light's parent company, tried to distance itself from the Mulvaney ad campaign, in turn provoking backlash from the LGBTQ+ community, with some establishments pulling the company's products from their menus.
ABI sold $297 million worth of Bud Light in the four weeks ending on May 28 — a 23% decline from the same period last year, according to consumer behavior data analytics firm Circana.
After a flood of negative online reactions to Brooks' Q&A, including a tweet from Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, the singer addressed calls to boycott himself and his bar in his weekly Facebook livestream, "Inside Studio G," on Monday.
"Diversity. Inclusiveness. That's me. It's always been me," the singer said. "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."
Trust me, you’re gonna want to TuneIn! love, g
— Garth Brooks (@garthbrooks) June 12, 2023
Watch #StudioG here: https://t.co/WgT2TD6JoK pic.twitter.com/ATcVWQIzdM
"I understand that might not be other people's opinions, but that's okay," Brooks added. "They have their opinions, they have their beliefs. I have mine."
Brooks went on to explain his business model, saying the types of beers he sells will depend on how well they sell.
"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 singer said. "If they don't want it, then I gotta go to the distributor saying, 'Man, your stuff is not selling.'"
The singer-songwriter reminded viewers of the type of behavior he expects in his bar.
"If you want to come in Friends in Low Places, come in, but come 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."
- In:
- Nashville
- LGBTQ+
- Beer
Simrin Singh is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.
veryGood! (863)
Related
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Thousands march against femicide in Kenya following the January slayings of at least 14 women
- Chicago Bears hire Eric Washington as defensive coordinator
- NFL hires 4 coaches of color in one cycle for first time ever. And 'it's a big deal'
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- NFL hires 4 coaches of color in one cycle for first time ever. And 'it's a big deal'
- New Orleans thief steals 7 king cakes from bakery in a very Mardi Gras way
- Israeli Holocaust survivor says the Oct. 7 Hamas attack revived childhood trauma
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- Finns go to the polls to elect a new president at an unprecedented time for the NATO newcomer
Ranking
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Amber Glenn becomes first LGBTQ+ woman to win U.S. Women's Figure Skating Championship
- Will other states replicate Alabama’s nitrogen execution?
- Iowa vs. Nebraska highlights: Caitlin Clark drops 38 in Hawkeyes women's basketball win
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Oregon weekly newspaper to relaunch print edition after theft forced it to lay off its entire staff
- T.J. Otzelberger 'angry' over 'ludicrous rumors' Iowa State spied on Kansas State huddles
- Biden offers fresh assurances he would shut down border ‘right now’ if Congress sends him a deal
Recommendation
Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
Motor City awash in 'Honolulu Blue' as Lions spark a magical moment in Detroit history
Plastic surgery helped murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong stay on the run
93 Americans died after cosmetic surgery in Dominican Republic over 14-year period, CDC says
Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
French farmers vow to continue protesting despite the government’s offer of concessions
U.S. women's figure skating at a crossroads amid Olympic medal drought of nearly 20 years
Science sleuths are using technology to find fakery in published research