Garth Brooks on Nashville honky-tonk serving Bud Light after backlash: 'Let's try love, it's a good place'
Garth Brooks had previously said that Bud Light would be served at his honky-tonk, Friends in Low Places, and now he's expanding on his decision on why he's taking a stand against critics who have slammed his choice to sell the beer brand.
At the grand opening of his bar in Nashville, Tennessee, Brooks told Fox News Digital that his decision to serve Bud Light – which has sparked backlash – all stems down to one question.
"How do you want to be treated?" the country music star asked.
The controversy with the beer company surrounds its decision to collaborate with transgender activist and actress Dylan Mulvaney. The partnership was promoted on social media, with Mulvaney sharing the "Easy Carry Contest" to her TikTok, leading to entertainers and politicians calling for a ban of the beer.
GARTH BROOKS CONTROVERSY: BUD LIGHT DRAMA FOLLOWS SUPER BOWL WALKOUT
Brooks says he is committed to making his bar on Broadway inclusive and an environment that promotes fun times.
WATCH: Garth Brooks on Nashville honky-tonk serving Bud Light after backlash: 'Let's try love, it's a good place'
"So, when you walk in here, hopefully you want to be surrounded with people who want to have fun," he said. "Nobody wants to be an a--. So that makes everybody get to have a good night."
Garth explained that there are "two kinds of people in the world."
"The good people and the people that might have a hard time being that today," he explained. "I totally believe in people. So, if you have another day where you want to try it, and it didn't turn out so good, come on back.
"Let's try love, it's a good place."
Brooks' bar, Friends in Low Places, held it's grand opening on Thursday. Next to the bar is a new Nashville police station, which Brooks helped open.
WATCH: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood's Friends in Low Places honky-tonk opened March 7
"Seeing that big police sign out there, what I love is that people have a beacon if they have any kind of trouble down here," he explained. "Lower [Broadway] is amazing for the number of people that's down here and the number of few incidents that they have down here."
He continued, "So, I'm really, really proud of this community, but the fact that there is a beacon set right in the middle now between where the Preds [Nashville Predators] play and the [Tennessee] Titans play, at any time, hopefully it will not only just deter bad things, but hopefully, it will make people relax down here and know they have a place to go if they need it."
Brooks has been outspoken about his choice to serve all brands of beer leading up to the opening of his Nashville bar.
WATCH: Garth Brooks says new Nashville police station next to bar will be a 'beacon'
In June, Garth spoke to Entertainment Tonight about how important it was that his bar is inclusive.
"I think if you know Garth Brooks, no matter how long you've known him, [he's] always been inclusive. We're going to need each other, trust me," Brooks told the outlet at the time.
"So, I think that diversity, inclusiveness, I think what you find is our differences are our greatest strengths."
Last summer, Brooks revealed what fans could expect from his bar.
"I know this sounds corny," Brooks said in an interview with Billboard. "I want it to be the Chick-fil-A of honky-tonks… 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."
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
"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 said.
Brooks opened the establishment with his wife, Trisha Yearwood.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Brooks said having a friendship as the foundation with his wife allowed them to work through any challenges.
WATCH: Garth Brooks says there's nothing 'God could invent' that would keep him apart from Trisha Yearwood
"So, try to remember, 1987 we met," he said. "And for 13 years we were just best buddies, friends. We would tour together. So, we told on ourselves way too much with each other because we were friends, never thinking we would end up being together."
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
"So, we kinda already know all the s--- on each other. So now, when you get into these things [opening a honky-tonk], you fight like cats and dogs. And then what you find out is that one of you is going to learn a lesson."
Brooks mentioned spending the lockdown with his wife of nearly 20 years during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Even in COVID, when you're stuck in the house, I'm stuck with the love of my life. I'm OK. So, getting to do this with her is just another one of those things," Brooks said.
"I don't think God could invent anything — and please God don't put me to [the] test on this — that would make me and Miss Yearwood want to be apart from each other."