Texas governor Greg Abbott – or someone who works for him – shared a link on Sunday to an article about Garth Brooks getting booed off the stage at the 123rd annual Texas Country Jamboree in Hambriston.
Problem is, there’s no Texas Country Jamboree nor a Hambriston, Texas.
The article was published on the Dunning-Kruger Times website, which includes a disclaimer that reads: “Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined.”
It claimed that Brooks’ “comments about his own fans being ‘a**holes’ has basically tanked his career.”
Abbott’s tweet of the link read: “Go woke. Go broke. Garth called his conservative fans. ‘a**holes’. Good job Texas.”
The tweet was later deleted and the governor’s office has not commented publicly.
The satirical article was inspired by Brooks’ vow to stock Bud Light at his Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk, which is currently under construction in Nashville.
(Many conservatives were outraged when Bud Light gifted a single customized can to a trans influencer.)
Brooks told Billboard that his bar will “serve every brand of beer. We just are.” He explained: “It’s not our decision to make. Our thing is this: If you come into this house, love one another. If you’re an a**hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway you can go.”
Later, during a livestream, Brooks said: “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.