Garth Brooks’ new Nashville bar and honky-tonk Friends in Low Places will open this summer — and the country star shares that everyone’s welcome… except the assholes.
During a panel discussion on Billboard Country Live, Brooks shared his thoughts as he hinted at a transphobic boycott of Bud Light, after the company enlisted transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a marketing campaign.
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“I want it to be a place where you feel safe. I want it to be a place where you feel like there are alike manners and people,” Brooks said of her new business. “And yes, we will serve all brands of beer. We are fair. It is not our decision to make. Our trick is this: if you [are let] in this house, love one another. If you’re an asshole, there are plenty of other places on Lower Broadway.
In addition to some customers refusing to buy Bud Light, a number of bars have suspended distribution of beer. Musicians John Rich and Kid Rock, who both own big bars on Broadway in Nashville, have stopped selling Bud Light.
The country star has a long history of alliances with the LGBTQ community. In 1992 Brooks released “We Shall Be Free”, a song condemning homophobia and racism.
“’We Shall Be Free’ is definitely and easily the most controversial song I’ve ever done. A song of love, a song of tolerance from someone who claims not to be a prophet but just an ordinary man,” Brooks wrote on the CD booklet for “The Chase.” “I never thought there would be any problems with this song. Sometimes the roads we take don’t turn out to be the roads we imagined. All I can say about ‘We Shall Be Free” is that I will support every line of this song for as long as I live. I’m very proud of that.”
Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk is set to open later this summer.
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