Blame Kid Rock.
The one-time rapper, sometimes rock star decided that Budweiser doing a small social media promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney was an affront to anyone who drinks Bud Light. Rock responded to the beer company trying to reach customers in the LGBTQ+ community by releasing a video of himself taking an MP5 submachine gun to some cases of the beer, firing off the Bud Light controversy.
This led to Budweiser parent Anheuser-Busch (BUD) – Get Free Report facing a massive backlash where sales dropped by more than 20% and a number of country performers took stands on whether a beer company should support inclusivity.
Garth Brooks, arguably the most-successful country performer of all time, is about to open a bar in Nashville. At Friends In Low Places Bar and Honky Tonk, one of the celebrity-owned bars on Broadway, the city’s main drag, Brooks has made it clear that he will be selling Bud Light.
“I know this sounds corny, I want it to be the Chick-fil-A of honky-tonks,” Brooks shared. “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.”
Now, while you have to ignore that Chick-fil-A certainly has its own inclusivity issues, what Brooks means is that everyone is welcome in his bar, except people who aren’t tolerant of others.
“And yes, we’re going to serve every brand of beer. We just are. 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 a**hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway,” he said.
Brandi Carlile, an openly gay alternative country artist may not speak to the traditional country audience the way Brooks does, but she’s one of the biggest performers in the world and has strong country roots. She spoke out in favor of Brook’s actions in a Twitter post..
“I’m down! He’s an absolute gem and by the way — let’s not forget that Garth has been on the right side of history many times. This is just him doing it again,” she shared.
Brooks has regularly ignored traditional country music norms in an attempt to support all people. The singer has not been openly political, but he did play at Joe Biden’s inauguration.
At the time, the singer told ABC News that he saw the opportunity as a chance “to serve” and “not a political statement, a statement of unity.”
Brooks has been very consistent with his message.
“I might be the only Republican at this place, but it’s about reaching across and loving one another,” Brooks reflected, adding that he’s “so tired of being divided” and he believes Biden is “hellbent on making things good.”
While some country stars including John Rich, who does not sell Bud Light at his own Nashville bar, because he found it wasn’t selling, support Brooks’ stand others have spoken out against the beer brand. Travis Tritt, for example, has banned Budweiser products from his tour.
“I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same,” he posted on Twitter.
Tritt also took another shot at Budweiser’s parent company on Twitter.
“In full disclosure, I was on a tour sponsored by Budweiser in the 90’s. That was when Anheuser-Busch was American owned. A great American company that later sold out to the Europeans and became unrecognizable to the American consumer. Such a shame,” he shared.
Jason Isbeall and Zach Bryan, both younger stars than either Tritt or Brooks have spoken out in favor of Bud Light’s inclusivity efforts.
“I mean no disrespect towards anyone specifically, I don’t even mind @Travistritt,” Bryan posted on Twitter. “I just think insulting transgender people is completely wrong because we live in a country where we can all just be who we want to be. It’s a great day to be alive I thought.”
