Garth Brooks Goes to ‘Low Places’ in Bud Light Fight
Country superstar could have taken the high road. Instead, he got nasty
Garth Brooks isn’t the first name that jumps to mind when the Culture Wars flare up.
He sticks to the music, thank you, a formula that made him a superstar with few peers. He’s sat out presidential campaigns, the Roe v. Wade battles and other hot-button issues in recent years.
Yes, he performed at Joe Biden’s recent inauguration ceremonies but nearly did the same for Donald Trump a few years earlier. Here are his comments on why a scheduling snafu prevented him from crooning in the real estate mogul.
“I’ll tell you with this whole presidential thing: We got one going out [Barack Obama]. Pray for him and his family. And for the president going in [Trump], pray for him and his family to guide this nation … Let’s stay together. Love, unity — that’s what it’s all about.”
“We can’t thank the Obamas enough for serving this country,” he said. “And may God hold Trump’s hand in the decisions that he makes in this country’s name as well.”
He could have joined The ResistanceTM. Instead, he shared kind words for both party leaders.
So it’s incredulous why Brooks is wading head first into BudLightGate and doing so with some pretty sharp elbows.
Bud Light forged a minor partnership with trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney earlier this year. That partnership went viral in the worst possible way for Bud Light’s bottom line. Beer sales plummeted as the brand’s loyal consumers rebelled against the move.
Yikes — Bud Light Sales tanked 60% over the Memorial Day Weekend pic.twitter.com/Sah21aYH90
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 5, 2023
Some saw the revolt as fueled by bigoted, anti-trans sentiment. Others argued the move ignored Bud Light’s core audience, something backed up by the advertising executive behind the campaign.
Alissa Gordon Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s Vice President of Marketing, has mocked its own customer base and demanded a more inclusive clientele.
“We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach.”
Bud Light sales continue to crater, toppling the suds from its place atop the beer world. Anheuser-Busch’s brand lost its best-selling status in May and some suggest it’ll never fully recover from the self-inflicted marketing wound.
Enter Chris Gaines AKA Garth Brooks.
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He recently promoted his new Nashville pub, dubbed Friends in Low Places, by saying Bud Light will be flowing from the bar. That’s not all he said, though.
“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 ***hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway.”
Why would he inflame the raging debate just as his new venture is about to open its doors to the public? It’s a terrible marketing move, no doubt.
Just ask Gordon Heinerscheid, who may go down in history as the woman behind one of the biggest brand meltdowns … ever. (She’s now on a leave of absence from her position)
More importantly, has Brooks heard both sides of the heated debate? Has he asked himself why so many Bud Light drinkers recoiled at the Mulvaney campaign? Is he aware that culture war issues are being thrust upon consumers from all angles, and the blowback is a reaction to that?
Does he understand that many people wish no ill upon Mulvaney but are exhausted at seeing every element of the culture weaponized to push an agenda?
Even their favorite beer?
If he had, chances are he wouldn’t have said what he said. It’s in stark contrast to decades of kindness he’s shown up until now, no matter the beer you drink or the politicians you support.
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UPDATE: Fellow country crooner John Rich disagrees with Brooks’ take on BudLightGate but offers a measured, collegial response to his peer’s expletive-laden comments.
“I think he probably sees the pain and division that’s going on in the country and wants to try to help that,” Rich said. “If I know Garth at all, and I know him a little, that’s probably the impetus behind a statement like that. So, good for him. I wish him the best.”
Trans people are people too. Love and respect them. That is what Christ would do.
Do conservatives lose their minds when they see a Scotsman in a kilt? Kinda looks like a dress.
Conservatives freak out over a man in kilts.
So let me guess, all the commenters making snide remarks here about Republicans/Conservatives hyperventilating over Mrs. Doubtfire, et al. are the same Lefties who can’t handle an author writing a novel that takes place in Russia circa 1900 because it upsets them in light of the current Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Garth brooks can say what he wants and sell whatever beer he wants and I have every right not to stop at his bar or drink Bud Light because I don’t like the Dylan Mulvaney man mocking real women with his little girl voice and hyping the stereotypical traits of girls/women being clueless about March Madness, obsession with makeup and jewelry, etc.
BTW – Mrs. Doubtfire is one of my favorites along with The Bird Cage – movies made to entertain – not preach or worse yet, shove an agenda down the audience’s throat.
No lefties are upset about any novel taking place in Russia. You are making stuff up. Trans people are not an insult to men and women. And Birdcage actually does preach. The movie completely skewers Gene Hackman’s conservative bigotry. You didn’t see yourself in that character?
I imagine Republicans lose their minds when they are flipping channels and Mrs. Doubtfire, Tootsie or Madea come on. Old reruns of Bosom Buddies must give them strokes. Bugs Bunny cartoons where Bugs is in drag must give them seizures. Some Like it Hot must give them heart attacks. They probably froth at the mouth with anger thinking of Milton Berle in drag from the 50s.
Do you not when Bugs Bunny did that, that was meant to be a joke? Dylan did it to can people.
BillyJackwasaliberal
2d ago
Beer is a adult beverage! This has nothing to do with children and everything to do with hate. America is moving forward with or without Republicans. We will not go backwards. Soon Republicans won’t have any beer to drink, any food to eat , any clothes to wear, any tv or movies to watch, any stores to shop at because they choose to be bigots. Did you just see the new Oreo ad with two drag queens? I guess you Republicans won’t be eating any Nabisco products which is a whole lot of food you guys like. This is post ” Will and Grace” America, we have come too far to go backwards. Most Americans have a live and let live attitude. Republicans look silly and un- American as they yell about this issue. What are Republicans going to run on in 2024? Beer boycotts, drag queens and taking away A woman’s right to her our body from her.
You’re the real bigot. You’re basically wishing for genocide. Democrats are the real Un-Americans. You are an evil communist pig.
I really don’t see the big deal here. Bud Light did nothing wrong. I don’t see why this is so upsetting to some conservatives.
Because he told half of the country to f*** off. Bud Light did do something wrong, you evil activist.
I presume Brooks is just ignorant. He thinks this is about welcoming gays to his concerts. He has no idea that Dylan Mulvaney is at the forefront in trying to push puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones on minors (chemical castration), as he mocks women with his faux-femme idiocy. Mulvaney is a very nasty sex pervert who is very much about transing and queering the children.
Alec,
Such anger. Relax, dude.
You’re the one that’s full of anger.
Alec, you are reading from the wrong sites. None of what you wrote is true. I’m just curious though, do Bugs Bunny cartoons where Bugs is in drag make you lose your mind? Did you destroy your house in a fit of rage when you saw Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie back in the 80s? What about that episode of Gilligan’s Island where Gilligan dressed as a woman? I imagine it has been a long and arduous life for you having to see so many men in drag over the years. You must have taken a sledgehammer to your television whenever Monty Python came on. Pity. John Cleese in drag was pretty funny.
You are on the wrong website. You’re defending Bud Light. You’re defending a con artist who’s using the transgender movement to make himself rich. And you are an evil communist.
He’s rich enough to say F U to half the country. And the country is still free enough where we can return the ‘salutation’ without joining the Jan 6 folks. For now. The Tricky Ds have plans for our silly ‘free speech’ though. Check the Coming Attractions (efforts to lock up the last POTUS so he can’t ever be the next POTUS).
You’re basically wishing genocide.
The whole Bud Light boycott thing really shows how stupid it is, purely idiotic, it was a promotion that hurt no one, didn’t push any agenda, and was only going to be seen by the people promoted to. It’s gotten to the point that no company can promote to their customers, unless they get it approved by people who don’t buy their product.
After Elon Musk bought Twitter he lost 80% of his advertisers. Did you really think that was ALWAYS going to be a one way street, lefties damaging businesses for political reasons and righties just watching. The pendulum was always going to swing in the other direction. It was always just a matter of time: once half a society chooses fascism everyone else comes along for the ride.
You are no American by defending Wokeness.
This has very little to do with Kathryne Hepburn drag and how people feel about it. If that idiot marketing director had said, “we were doing a targeted campaign prior to Pride Month and we’re sorry it was a bit much for our regular customers” none of this would have happened.
This has everything to do with hate, though. Instead, she said, “we hate our existing customers and want to replace them.” The existing customers are leaving. Good luck replacing them.
Every person who says this is about bigots hating homos is making a fool of themselves, including both Danny and Garth. Anyone who says their customers are bitter clingers, deplorables, or out-of-touch deserves to lose those customers.
It’s good to see that there are people that are kind, even when there is so much hate in the world. It doesn’t take much to say “everyone is welcome, just be polite.”
At the end of the day, it’s a beer, drink it or don’t, go elsewhere if its very presence is too much for you.
Know that judging and hating will only drive you to age terribly, be sick, and become a joke to those around you, no matter what side you’re on.
If you can’t think for yourselves and are only going based on what either your bigoted relatives say or what the world guilts you into virtue signaling you’re a lost cause.
We’re going on what THE CREATOR OF ALL says, dumba$$. Fighting for reality doesn’t make me an a$$hole. Trying to talk sense in to folks such as yourself sure as he’ll does, though.
Glad Garth isn’t a bigot. I respect him for taking a stand against nonsensical hate towards trans people.
You’re the one that’s full of hate. And you are a bigot. You are an evil activist.
So happy to see Garth respecting fellow human beings. This trans hate needs to stop. Love all people.
John, well said Mary. Garth is just showing love and respect for all types of people. That is always a good thing. It is also nice to see so many positive posts on here. This is a site that generally does not get kind posters. Although, they’re still a few trolls on here who are being downright mean.
Good for Garth Brooks! I am so happy to see him take the high road on this issue. Garth is not full of hate. He took a stand in the 90s for gay rights with his song We Shall Be Free. It nearly got him cancelled by conservatives. So glad he hasn’t lost his penchant for doing the right thing.
So supporting billion dollar corporations, trying to force cheap beer down your gullet, is “the right thing”? This is business, sweetheart. Nothing more, nothing less.
Brooks is a fraud and ignorant. Chief psychiatrist at John’s Hopkins hospital states that trans people are mentally ill and what does it say about the scum supporting trans for kids. Time to eliminate this.
This is the same a**hole who declared war on used CDs back in the early 90s. I’m sure that his bar will get exactly how much business it deserves
You are a bigot and a segregationist.
We just came back from a few days in Nashville. We drove around downtown and from the appearance of the youngsters flooding the streets, I doubt Brooks’ comments are even known to a lot of those people – young, college age! When you watch videos of people asking young people serious questions such as “Which is further SOUTH – NORTH Carolina or SOUTH Dakota” and then shake your head at the IGNORANCE! I’m sure that he’ll do fine but WITHOUT the Aholes!
The only asshole here is you. You sound ignorant by defending this has been country singer.
I say we make Garth Brooks bar, an exclusive gay bar. Invite every Alphabet character out there to show up in mass. This can be the only guy country bar in Nashville. Let’s give him what he wants.
That’s actually a good idea.
This is wonderful! It makes me love Garth even more. To see him showing respect for all humans with such love and compassion in these hateful times is a beautiful thing. God bless you Garth.