Garth Brooks Says He’ll Sell Bud Light at His Nashville Bar

Garth Brooks won’t let transphobic backlash keep him from selling Bud Light at his Nashville bar. The country icon addressed the beverage company’s decision to work with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney during a panel at Billboard Country Live during CMA Fest in Nashville last week, stating he wanted everyone to feel “safe” at his Friends in Low Places Bar and Honky-Tonk.

“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,” said Brooks of his bar, which opens to the public soon. “And yes, we’re going to serve every brand of beer. We just are.” He continued, “It’s not our decision to make. Our thing is this: If you [are let] into this house, love one another. If you’re an assh-, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway.”

Bud Light faced transphobic backlash from right-wing consumers and celebrities after partnering with Mulvaney for a social media post. The partnership became a talking point for right-winger personalities including Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh and Kid Rock, who posted a video in which he shot at boxes of Bud Light while wearing a MAGA hat. At the time, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a statement, “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.” 

Mulvaney took to social media in late April to address the controversy, saying she had waited to speak out while the haters “tucker themselves out.” She continued, “But what I’m struggling to understand is the need to dehumanize and to be cruel. I don’t think that’s right. Dehumanization has never fixed anything in history, ever.” 

The TikTok personality added, “And, you know, I’m embarrassed to even tell you this, but I was nervous that you were going to start believing those things that they were saying about me, since it is so loud. But I’m just gonna go ahead and trust that the people who know me and my heart won’t listen to that noise.” She concluded by thanking her supporters: “And to those of you who support me and choose to see my humanity-even if you don’t fully understand or relate to me – thank you.”