Garth Brooks has responded to backlash over his decision to sell Bud Light at his new Tennessee bar.
The 61-year-old country singer had recently said in an interview with Billboard that his Nashville bar, The Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk, with be fully stocked with "every brand of beer".
His statements come as a handful of musicians and other celebrities have boycotted the brand, which just lost its spot as the best-selling beer in the US. In fact, Bud Light has had its fair share of controversy over the past few months, having received immense backlash from conservative Americans after sending 26-year-old transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney a personalized can of its product.
Mulvaney then took her Instagram on April 1 to share a promotional video of her drinking the beer while dressed up as Audrey Hepburn. The ad was also to promote its March Madness competition, which happened to fall around the same time as Mulvaney celebrating her first year since transitioning.
Musicians like Travis Tritt and Kid Rock hit out at the brand, with the 'All Summer Long' singer going viral after posting a video on Twitter of himself shooting his rifle at crates of Bud Light (although, he never mentioned Mulvaney's name or the partnership in his post).
Brooks clearly didn't want to participate in the boycott, telling Billboard that he will definitely be stocking Bud Light at his bar. "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. And yes, we're going to serve every brand of beer. We just are. It's not our decision to make," he told the outlet.
"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 added.
Brooks has since responded to the backlash he faced after making those comments, taking to a Facebook livestream to say: "We did an interview with Melinda Newman from Billboard, and from that came quite a little bit of a stir. So let's … address two things on it. One is diversity. Inclusiveness: That's me. That's always been me [...] 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 OK, man. They have their opinions, they have their beliefs; I have mine," he added.
The singer continued: "Here's the deal, man: If you want to come to Friends in Low Places, come in. Come in with love. Come in with tolerance, 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."
