Bud Light’s partnership with a transgender influencer has sparked calls for a boycott of the beer maker’s products
(Bloomberg) — Anheuser-Busch has responded after nearly two weeks of backlash over the Bud Light brand’s partnership with a transgender content creator, but excluded any direct mention of the anti-trans issue at the heart of the controversy.
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” Chief Executive Officer Brendan Whitworth said in a statement issued Friday. “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Anheuser-Busch did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. In a previous statement, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said the company regularly works with different influencers for its marketing needs.
Bud Light partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, an influencer with over 13 million social media followers, to promote the brand during March Madness. In a video posted on her Instagram page April 1 that has since amassed 162,000 likes, she showed off a custom Bud Light can the company made with her photo on it.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Dylan Mulvaney (@dylanmulvaney)
Mulvaney has worked with other brands, including KitchenAid and the skincare brand Ole Henriksen, and riffed on Bud Light’s Super Bowl commercial in February.
Whitworth’s statement on Friday was met with even more pushback on Instagram and other social media platforms. One commenter interpreted the statement as “so many words and yet no actual response.”
Singer Kid Rock previously decried Bud Light’s decision to work with Mulvaney during March Madness, posting a video in which he shot cases of Bud Light with a gun. Florida Senator Marco Rubio highlighted a vintage Bud Light ad created “before corporate America surrendered to the deranged Marxist anti-American mafia.” Other users have called for a boycott of Anheuser-Busch products.
Imara Jones, the chief executive officer of advocacy nonprofit TransLash, cautioned that the statement could further stoke a landscape that is increasingly hostile to transgender people. “Understanding that Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth had good intentions, this statement gives the impression that the company is second-guessing its decision to feature Dylan Mulvaney,” she said.
Anheuser-Busch’s decision to partner with Mulvaney comes amid a spike in anti-trans laws across states in the US. This year alone, at least 11 states have enacted bans or restrictions on gender-affirming health care for transgender kids. Conservative lawmakers at the state level have introduced at least 461 anti-LGBTQ bills in the 2023 legislative session, according to the American Civil Liberties Union — more than the previous five years combined.
Mulvaney regularly spotlights the rise in anti-LGBTQ — and specifically anti-trans legislation — in the US.
Alcohol brands like Anheuser-Busch, Molson Coors and Constellation Brands in recent years have marketed to the LGBTQ community, particularly in June as a way to tap into Pride celebrations and parades. LGBT Capital estimates that LGBTQ people globally have $3.9 trillion in annual spending power.
Sabrina Kent, executive vice president of programs and external affairs for the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit for LGBTQ-owned businesses, said it’s important that companies like Anheuser-Busch commit to supporting LGBTQ rights year-round.
“We applaud organizations that intentionally source from and feature LGBTQ people and stories,” Kent said.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.