Things have gotten even worse for Bud Light.
Their sales took their biggest plunge so far, dropping 28.5 percent. It was still affecting other beers in their line as well. Bud Light was gearing up to try another rebate move for the July 4th holiday, which could effectively mean they’re giving their beer away free again, just like they did for Memorial Day weekend. They were also pulling out and dusting off the “Bud Knight,” hoping that that might bring back some customers. They also didn’t help things by sponsoring the Toronto Pride parade, where naked people were marching in front of children.
Then on Wednesday, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth did an interview with “CBS Mornings.” He explained the relationship with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, “Just to be clear, it was a gift, and it was one can.” Interviewer Tony Dokupil asked if he would do it again, but the CEO refused to commit. Dokupil even pointed out he was straddling the fence, which disturbs both sides on the issue.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth seems like he has no regrets about the decisions that destroyed Bud Light and suggests he would do it again. pic.twitter.com/gnGboWRBCS
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 28, 2023
But Whitworth still ducked the question. “There’s a big social conversation going on right now,” the CEO said. “It’s moved away from beer,” and “Bud Light doesn’t belong in this divisive conversation.” He did say that they’d supported the LGBTQ community for years and would continue to do so. “We have to understand the impact that it’s had… it’s the impact on our employees, the impact on our consumers, and as well the impact on our partners,” he said.
There was only one response that would have done anything at all to stop the bleeding, and that wasn’t it. Whitworth’s response was completely tone-deaf, even after all this time that he has had to clean it up and say something consequential. He completely failed at it. He would have been better off saying nothing than what he said. He wants the consumers to understand the impact this is having on Bud Light employees and distributors, but even though he claimed responsibility for the brand, he’s not acknowledging how it’s the company’s decisions that have adversely impacted the brand and those employees.
But Whitworth’s remarks may have an impact on one person: transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. While I think Whitworth’s statement failed for not including an apology to its consumers, Mulvaney said that Bud Light failed for not sufficiently supporting him.
Dylan Mulvaney opens up about how the anti-trans uproar over her Bud Light partnership has affected her mental health. pic.twitter.com/aNiFKMwf0T
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 29, 2023
Dylan Mulvaney on Thursday blasted Bud Light for giving “customers permission to be as transphobic and as hateful as they want” by abandoning the trans influencer following backlash over the disastrous tie-up.
The social media star finally broke her silence with an emotional Instagram video to her 1.8 million followers, tearfully revealing that she has been “ridiculed in public” and has “felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all,” Mulvaney, 26, said in the clip.
“And I was scared, and I was scared of more backlash, and I felt personally guilty for what transpired, so I patiently waited for things to get better,” Mulvaney added. “But surprise, they didn’t. And I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did.”
It’s not “transphobic” to not like the way that Mulvaney has mocked women and girls, and not like the way that Bud Light appeared to endorse that mockery by endorsing his “365 Days of Being a Girl” or an adult male claiming to be a little girl.
Now Mulvaney’s comments are not going to help the situation with the boycott at all. Notice how Mulvaney is claiming that he was hired. In other words, according to Mulvaney, making a Mulvaney Bud Light can wasn’t just a “gift,” as Whitworth said.
Indeed Mulvaney’s comments are likely just going to make things worse for Bud Light and potentially anger the people on the left more at Bud Light as well. Bud Light has issued a statement that sounds a lot like what Whitworth said, which is a whole lot of nothing.
An Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told The Daily Beast in a statement that the company remains “committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.” The statement did not, however, mention Mulvaney.
“The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority,” the spokesperson wrote. “As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best – brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers.”
