Bud Light continues to attempt to crawl out of the financial and public relations hole dug by its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney and has now angered members of the LGBTQ movement, who demand that Anheuser-Busch support the trans community or face another boycott.
This time, from the left.
According to The Washington Times on Wednesday, Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Bud Light, suggested in a letter to its distributors that the debacle generated by its involvement with the transgender influencer was an outside job.
Sales of Bud Light have plummeted 26% since April 1 because of the blowback from conservatives.
That includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
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As The Free Press reported last month, DeSantis told an interviewer, “Why do you want to drink Bud Light? Honestly, that’s like them rubbing our faces in it. And it’s like these companies, if they never have any response, they’re just gonna keep doing it.”
According to the Times, Anheuser-Busch told its distributors, “This was one single can, given to one social media influencer.”
“It was not made for production or sale to the general public. This can is not a formal campaign or advertisement.”
“Anheuser-Busch did not intend to create controversy or make a political statement,” that letter continued.
The Times noted that the controversy erupted once Mulvaney, a biological male who identifies as a woman, posted a video on social media while dressed as Audrey Hepburn’s character in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and swigging a Bud Light and showing off a can with Mulvaney’s image on it.
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“In reality, the Bud Light can posted by a social media influencer that sparked all the conversation was provided by an outside agency without Anheuser-Busch management awareness or approval,” the company’s letter added.
“Since that time, the lack of oversight and control over marketing decisions has been addressed, and a new VP of Bud Light marketing has been announced,” the letter added.
That referred to the firing of two top executives who oversaw Bud Light’s marketing strategy.
The attempts by the company to back away from Mulvaney have angered members of the LGBTQ movement. They are now demanding that Anheuser-Busch support the movement or face another boycott effort from the left.
A senior vice president at the Human Rights Campaign, Jay Brown, wrote a letter to Anheuser-Busch last week asking the beer maker to release a statement explicitly supporting Mulvaney and to implement transgender inclusion training for executives. “In this moment, it is absolutely critical for Anheuser-Busch to stand in solidarity with Dylan and the trans community,” the letter said, according to a report from The Hill. “However, when faced with anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic criticism, Anheuser-Busch’s actions demonstrate a profound lack of fortitude in upholding its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
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Responding to the criticism of its partnership with Mulvaney, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a tweet on April 14, that the company has “thousands of partners, millions of fans and a proud history of supporting our communities, military, first responders, sports fans and hard-working Americans everywhere.”
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” Whitworth said in a written statement shared on Anheuser-Busch’s social media accounts. “We are in the business of bringing people together over beer.”
According to The Hill, Anheuser-Busch has “declined several meeting requests” from HRC in the wake of the pushback over its partnership with Mulvaney.
HRC’s letter also recommends that Anheuser-Busch meet with its LGBTQ employees to discuss and “understand their concerns” and conduct workplace transgender inclusion training for company executives, The Hill reported.
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