Country music fans are not happy with Garth Brooks. The 61–year–old musician recently said he would serve Bud Light at an upcoming bar in Nashville despite the widespread boycott of the brand.
The singer said his new bar, Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk, would serve “every brand of beer,” despite Bud Light being singled out by customers of many downtown bars in Nashville, including John Rich’s Redneck Riviera and Kid Rock’s Big A** Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse for their partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“I know this sounds corny,” Brooks told Billboard magazine. “I want it to be the Chick–fil–A of honky–tonks… 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.”
However, his fans quickly responded to the comments on social media, many of them saying they were throwing out his records and boycotting his concerts.
Robert Cornicelli, who ran for Congress last year, tweeted that “Country music star @garthbrooks has no tolerance for Bud Light boycotters, calling them ‘a**holes‘ and promising he will server the beer brand in his new Nashville bar. Now I delete every Garth Brooks song from my collection. NEVER AGAIN GARTH!”
Other fans wrote that they were throwing out their entire music collections and would never attend another one of his concerts, saying that the boycott was about socialism and not sexuality.
Country singer John Rich also weighed in on Brooks’ comments, telling Fox News on Friday: “Garth Brooks has always been the guy that said, ‘everybody come to my show.’ You know, he makes his music for everybody. Beer’s for everybody, too. If Garth is serving Bud Light in his bar, that’s fine. He might find out not many people are going to order it.”
There were also those who praised Brooks for his comments and his support of the LGBTQ+ community. Rep. Eric Swalwell tweeted that he “100 [percent] agree with @garthbrooks… love one another and don’t be an ass–hole … words to live by!”
Bud Light had seen sales plummet in early April after Mulvaney revealed her face on customized beer cans as part of a celebration of her 365th day of girlhood. Furthering their partnership with the influencer, Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser–Busch, announced last month that it would triple its marketing spending this summer as it tries to boost ailing sales.
Despite the backlash, Brooks’ determination to serve Bud Light despite the boycott won’t be changing anytime soon. It remains to be seen if this will have an effect on his fans’ reaction and support of his music.