Latest Bud Light Outrage Comes from Shocking Source

Bud Light sales have yet to recover after the beer company tried to venture off into social justice issues plaguing our nation. Namely, the place of transgender brand ambassadors in mainstream America.

We all saw what happened back in April when Bud Light teamed up with Dylan Mulvaney to sell beer of social media with a special can they made just for him her. Within days, sales plummeted. They consistently lost more than 30% of their revenue week after week. In fact, Bud Light lost it’s position as our country’s number one selling beer.

As weeks went by, it got worse. Kid Rock shot up his Bud Light stash. The memes were relentless. I remember seeing video from a baseball game where absolutely no one even got in the Bud Light line, it stood empty. My husband forgot about the drama and ordered a Bud Light and I promptly removed the label to avoid triggering the crowd.

I’ve noticed Bud Light uppped the advertising surrounded their “red-blooded American” campaigns, hoping to play on patriotism to win back customers, but I doubt it made much difference considering I’ve yet to read any positive headlines in the past three months.

Now. a popular voice has joined the anti-Anheuser rhetoric and you won’t believe who is calling them out.

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None other than Dylan Mulvaney.

Mulvaney broke her silence, asserting that the beer maker should buck the opinions of their massive customer base, and instead stand by their freak show.

ABC News explains:

Now, in a video posted to Instagram Thursday, Mulvaney is calling on Bud Light and other companies not only to work with trans and other queer influencers, but to support them through the process, even as trans rights are under fire across the country and corporations face anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns.

Mulvaney said she has “been scared to leave my house, and I have been ridiculed in public, I have been followed,” and she criticized Bud Light for not standing by her and the partnership. She said the company never reached out to her in the wake of the backlash.

“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” Mulvaney said. “And the hate doesn’t end with me, it has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community.”

When the backlash ignited in April, Bud Light first responded with a straightforward explanation of its relationship with social media influencers like Mulvaney. But later it released a vague statement from the CEO that failed to offer support for Mulvaney or the trans community. Bud Light sales dropped in the ensuing weeks, the company lost its top rating from a major LGBTQ+ nonprofit and it placed two marketing executives on leave.

The controversy over the sponsored posts came as trans rights are under attack. Over 400 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in state legislatures this year through April 3, according to American Civil Liberties Union, including ones restricting access to gender-affirming care for trans youth. Generally, transgender people are more than four times as likely to be victims of violent crime than cisgender people, according to a study from the UCLA School of Law.

The Bud Light backlash also coincided with anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns against other big brands, including Target.

Mulvaney’s statement followed a Wednesday appearance by Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch, on CBS Mornings, in which he repeated the company’s recent statements about wanting to “focus on what we do best, which is brewing great beer for everyone,” and did not directly answer a question about whether the campaign was a mistake.

“I think the conversation surrounding Bud Light has moved away from beer, and the conversation has become divisive, and Bud Light really does not belong there, Bud Light should be about bringing people together,” Whitworth said.

In her video, Mulvaney appeared to address that sentiment, saying, “supporting trans people, it shouldn’t be political.”

“There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us, and I know it’s possible because I’ve worked with some fantastic companies who care,” Mulvaney said. “But caring about the LGBTQ+ community requires a lot more than just a donation somewhere during Pride month.”

She added: “We’re customers, too, I know a lot of trans and queer people who love beer.”

Bud Light issued a quick response.

In a statement responding to Mulvaney’s video, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told CNN on Thursday that, “we remain 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 privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority. 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.”

That’s code for “this situation left us screwed, blued, and tattooed and we’re not willing to further break the bank.” If I’m being honest, I don’t personally care if there is a world full of men who like to walk around in dramatic makeup and wear ladies underwear. It’s no lace off my arse. However, it’s not the kind of behavior that should be pushed on society, especially children. Basically, I believe in private, to each his own. But in public, for God’s sake, have some respect people.

Now, I understand beer is also not made for children, but flooding social media and TV with advertisements boasting such actions does directly effect people of all ages. Or have we all forgotten about Joe Cool and the Marlboro man?

Clearly, when the majority of Americans are horrified, their reactions should be the voice of reason. However, as our own Lawrence Johnson once wrote, we have become a nation where the minority rules. Especially when it comes to the indoctrination of our children, which happens to be the goal of Dylan Mulvaney and all the copy-cat platforms out there just waiting to shove their values down our nation’s throat, whether or not we choke on the consequences.

 

 

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