A musician launched the Bud Light controversy which has caused the brand to see sales its sales drop by over 20%. It was Kid Rock who first brought major attention to the Anheuser-Busch (BUD) brand's small partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Rock showed his displeasure for that deal by using a semi-automatic rifle to shoot up multiple cases of Bud Light. He posted that video on his social media accounts along with an expletive-filled message that clearly showed that he was not going to be drinking Bud Light, or presumably any Anheuser-Busch product going forward.
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Rock's antics led to a right-wing backlash that has also targeted selective companies which sell Pride merchandise or celebrate the LGBTQA community in any public way. The movement has been sort of random with Target (TGT), for example being singled out for its Pride merchandise while Walmart (WMT), which sells similar clothes, has been left unscathed.
The situation has forced a number of celebrities to take a stand and now, Garth Brooks, arguably the biggest country performer of all time, has weighed in.
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Garth Brooks Stands Up For Decency
Country stars rarely speak out on political issues, especially when it puts them at odds with right-wing causes. That was a lesson learned by the former Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks) after lead singer Natalie Maines made comments about former President George W. Bush that led to her getting death threats and the band being dropped by country radio.
Taylor Swift faced similar problems when she spoke out against a Donald Trump-backed candidate for senate from her home state of Tennessee. Basically, country singers are supposed to "shut up and sing," as Maines sings in The Chicks' comeback hit "Not Ready to Make Nice" if they don't agree with the right on political issues.
Brooks has decided to join Swift and The Chicks in making his voice heard. The legendary singer, who plans to open “Friends in Low Places Bar and Honky Tonk,” in Nashville soon has made his feelings on Bud Light very clear.
“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, Brooks does appear to be ignoring that Chick-fil-A has its own controversies when it comes to the LGBTQA community, What he was very clear on is that all beers and all people are welcome in his bar.
"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 told Billboard's Executive Editor Melinda Newman at Billboard Country Live in Nashville on May 7.
Brooks bought the 40,000 s.f. space in Nashville in 2021 and said at the time that his bar would be inclusive and welcoming.
"The goal is a classic honky-tonk that welcomes all and encourages love and kindness while playing the greatest music in the world in the home of country music," he said.
