In case you missed it: During a Q&A with Billboard last week, Garth Brooks spoke about Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk, which the singer is opening in Nashville’s South Broadway District. He said, “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. 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 asshole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway.”
That was in reference to the conservative backlash Bud Light has faced for its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, and Brooks’ words earned some unfavorable responses from John Rich and Florida congressman Matt Gaetz. Brooks, though, seems unbothered.
Yesterday, Brooks hosted an Inside Studio G livestream and addressed the situation (as Billboard reports), saying, “We did an interview with Melinda Newman from Billboard, and from that came quite a little bit of a stir. So let’s […] address two things on it. One is diversity. Inclusiveness: That’s me. That’s always been me. […] Everybody’s got their opinions, but inclusiveness is always going to be me. I think diversity is the answer to the problems that are here and the problems that are coming. So I love diversity. All-inclusive, so all are welcome. I understand that that might not be other people’s opinions, but that’s OK, man. They have their opinions, they have their beliefs, I have mine.”
He concluded, “Here’s the deal, man: If you want to come to Friends In Low Places, come in. Come in with love. Come in with tolerance, patience. Come in with an open mind, and it’s cool. And if you’re one of those people who just can’t do that, I get it. If you ever are one of those people who want to try, come! Let’s have some fun. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that.”