Country music star John Rich recently addressed the news that Garth Brooks plans to continue selling Bud Light at his Nashville bar, plus talked about “woke” culture more broadly.
Rich spoke with Fox News Digital ahead of his CMA Fest performance, reacting to recent news that fellow country star and Nashville bar owner Garth Brooks saying he would still sell Bud Light in his establishment despite the backlash and ongoing boycotts over the brand’s partnership with trans-identified influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Brooks said if people don’t like that, “there are plenty of other places” they can go.
“Garth Brooks has always been the guy that said, ‘everybody come to my show,’” Rich said. “It’s something that we love about Garth. You know, he makes his music for everybody. And that really is what music is about. You’re making your music for everybody. Beer’s for everybody, too.”
“If Garth is serving Bud Light in his bar, that’s fine. Garth can do that. Garth might find out not many people are going to order it,” the singer said. “And at the end of the day, you have to put things in your establishment that people are going to purchase if you’re going to run a successful business. So, he might find that out.”
Rich said his customers didn’t want to order Bud Light anymore after the brand chose to partner with Mulvaney.
“I think people finally had enough of woke culture being right in their face like a bullhorn every time they turn around,” the “Save a Horse” singer said. “You know, at the end of a hard-working day, you want to have a cold beer. That’s like your reward for working hard all day. The last thing any man or woman wants is to have culture slammed right up in their face. They just don’t want that.”
“So they rejected it, rejected it wholeheartedly, and we moved on to other beers,” Rich said.
The owner of the live music venue Redneck Riviera Bar & BBQ said he never made a conscious decision to boycott Bud Light, but rather let the customers decide what alcohol should be stocked in the bar. Rich noted that they sold “zero Bud Lights” in the wake of the controversy.
“I think the majority of people, whether they’re left, right or otherwise, they care about their families,” Rich told Fox News. “I think they respect our military. I think they love and value and cherish their freedom.”
He added that Bud Light drinkers were always a varied bunch who often disagreed politically but all chose the same brand of beer. The country star said the brand partnering with Mulvaney changed that.
“They made it a political social issue on what beer you drink, and I think that’s a sad statement on our country right now. But, hey, it’s their money. It’s their brand. They can market it however they want to, but Americans have responded in a very strong way,” Rich said.