Incase you haven’t heard, Garth Brooks is gearing up to open a new bar in Nashville, called Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk, of course named after his 1990 megahit “Friends in Low Places.”
He’s previously described his upcoming watering hole as the “Chick-fil-A of honky tonks,” which he clarified meant that everybody was welcome and that it felt safe.
“I want the Chick-fil-a of honky tonks. I want a place you go in where you feel good, you feel safe. Everybody’s got good manners.
I’m hoping that there’s right when you walk in it’s a ‘Love Everybody’ stated right there. That’s what it’s about, right? So I want a place that’s just safe. That feels good.”
I mean, “safe” on Broadway is a relative term, but for the most part, when you pack hundreds of thousands of drunk people into an area with dozens and dozens and dozens of bars, there is bound to be some fights, some chaos, some puking in the street. But for the most part, it’s pretty easy to have a good time on Broadway without incident or feeling “unsafe.”
That being said, Garth recently reiterated his Chick-fil-A comments in regards to the atmosphere of his new bar, but he went even a step further in regards to the recent Bud Light controversy.
We all know that back in April Bud Light decided to partner with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, and has ultimately led to a massive protest against the beer resulting in the company losing over $27 billion.
So ol’ Garth made a point to say that his bar will serve “every brand of beer,” and essentially called those who continue to protest Bud Light “assholes,” saying they are welcome to go somewhere else.
“Yes, we’re going to serve every brand of beer. We just are. It’s not our decision to make.
If you come into this house, love one another. If you’re an asshole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway.”
He also said he hopes his bar helps make Broadway “a country music mall” as opposed to a zoo, stating:
“In my existence, one asshole can turn the whole tide down there. My thing is, let’s create a place that you feel safe in.”
As you can imagine, this didn’t sit well with folks, many Garth Brooks fans included, who are continuing to protest against Bud Light, and G took a lot of heat for his comments on social media.
According to NBC News, he further explained his comments during his Facebook livestream “Inside Studio G,” and while he didn’t go as far as to double down on the asshole comment, he did argue that diversity and inclusiveness are always going to be important to him:
“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 answer to the problems that are coming.
So I love diversity. All inclusive, so all are welcome. I understand that might not be other people’s opinions, but that’s OK, man.”
Considering Garth initially told people to go somewhere else on Broadway, this seems like he’s softening on his stance quite a bit, despite the vague and simplistic notion that diversity is somehow the answer to all of America’s problems.
Either way, it sounds like Garth will still be serving Bud Light at the ol’ oasis… whenever those doors finally open later this summer.
John Rich, co-front man for Big & Rich and owner of the Nashville bar Redneck Riviera, has been one of the handful of conservative country stars who have been protesting Bud Light.
However, Rich was able to show a bit more grace to Brooks’ comments than the rest of the Twitter mob, as he said:
“Garth Brooks has always been the guy that that said, ‘everybody come to my show.’
It’s something that we love about Garth. You know, he makes his music for everybody. And that really is what music is about. You’re making your music for everybody. Beer’s for everybody, too.”
But Rich continued by saying that Garth may realize that, even though he’s selling Bud Light in his bar, it doesn’t mean that people are going to buy it:
“If Garth is serving Bud Light in his bar, that’s fine. 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.”
Rich also tweeted out:
“Everyone has the right to market their business however they see fit, and Garth is regarded as one of the greatest marketers of all time in country music. I’m sure his new place is beautiful, and I wish him well!”
