Garth Brooks does whatever he wants.
That's something few celebrities get away with, but the singer has enough money, fame, and diehard fans that he does not need to fear reprisals from either side of the political aisle. The singer went against many of the country performers of his generation -- and Kid Rock -- when he made it clear that his upcoming Nashville Bar would serve Bud Light.
Instead of condemning Anheuser-Busch (BUD) -) for working with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Brooks embraced the idea of inclusivity. In a business where a lot of the core fan base consider "diversity" and "inclusive" as dirty words, the singer made it clear that his new Nashville "Friends in Low Places Bar" would be welcoming to all.
“I think diversity is the answer to the problems that are here and the answer to the problems that are coming. So I love diversity. All-inclusive, so all are welcome. I understand that might not be other people’s opinions, but that’s OK, man,” he said in an interview with Billboard.
That earned the best-selling country singer of all time some right-wing backlash and people calling him "woke." Brooks did not seem at all bothered by that as he followed up his support of inclusivity by joining his wife, country singer Trisha Yearwood, in calling for people to support Ukraine.
That's Brooks taking up a second opinion that some right-wing voters -- be they isolationists or simply fans of Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin -- consider "woke." Those two stands led to calls for boycotts, which seem to have little impact on the singer as he just quickly sold out the 83,000 capacity Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Now, the singer shows that he answers to no party by doing something completely unexpected at his Nashville bar.
Image source: Drew Angerer/Getty
Garth Brooks Builds a Police Station
While Brooks angered the far right with his Bud Light and Ukraine stands, he's doing something at his Nashville bar that many on the far left might not like. He's building a police substation for the Metro Nashville Police Department on his property.
"Chief Drake today joined @garthbrooks for a great walk-through of his Friends in Low Places Bar under construction at 411 Broadway. As part of the renovation, Garth is providing the MNPD a substation in a building adjacent to his. We are so proud of this partnership!" the department shared on Twitter.
That's something many of the responses (at least the ones not making reference to the "Brooks is a serial killer" storyline started by comedian Tom Segura) saluted.
"So needed! Downtown should be protected by real Metro Police not the imposter police force for the Downtown Partnership," GHMama Tweeted.
And, while there were a lot of jokes related to Segura's mock allegations, there were some other people who asked the more realistic question.
"Awesome get drunk and then get arrested by the guys next door! Who the hell wants to drink next to a police station lol," Danny T shared.
"Who doesn't want to drink at a bar that shares a parking lot with a police station?" Arthur Dent added.
Segura's fans, for their part, have been playing to the comedian's act by flooding any post from Brooks or mentioning him with some version of "Where are the bodies, Garth?"
That movement seems to have a lot more traction than any right-wing boycott of the singer and his music.
