Transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a man living as a woman, publicly bashed Bud Light, charging that the company has not been supportive enough amid the backlash over their botched partnership.
In an Instagram video, Mulvaney declared himself a beer lover as he enjoyed a cold brew.
“One thing I will not tolerate people saying about me is that I don’t like beer because I love beer and I always have,” Mulvaney said.
Mulvaney said that the initial partnership with Bud Light sparked more “bullying and more transphobia” than he ever could have imagined.
“I should’ve made this video months ago but I didn’t,” said Mulvaney. “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. But surprise, they didn’t. And I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did.”
“And for months now, I’ve been scared to leave my house, I have been ridiculed in public, I’ve been followed, and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Mulvaney continued. “And I’m not telling you this because I want your pity, I am telling you this because this is my experience from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much, much worse for other trans people.”
Mulvaney then slammed Bud Light for not being supportive enough.
“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, adding that it will have “serious and grave consequences” for the LGBTQ community.
Corporations have been put into a difficult corner amid backlash over massive Pride Month campaigns, especially in markets directed at children. A recent report from CNBC showed that companies will have to make difficult decisions in the years ahead. As Breitbart News reported, Bud Light has been a floundering brand since it partnered with Mulvaney and has been replaced by Modelo as America’s number-one beer. Anson Frericks, who previously served as president of sales and distribution at Anheuser-Busch, said that some corporations need to have a better understanding of their audience.
“Anheuser-Busch has lost sight of who its customer is. A brand like Bud Light is a brand that has never been political, but now they’re being shunned by customers on the right, who see this partnership as a very politicized position they’ve taken, and also customers on the left who don’t feel supported amid the backlash,” he told CNBC.
Just this week, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth refused to say if his company would partner with Dylan Mulvaney again now that the backlash has settled. Whitworth told CBS Mornings:
It’s been a challenging few weeks. I think the conversation surrounding Bud Light has moved away from beer, and the conversation has become divisive. And Bud Light really doesn’t belong there. Bud Light should be all about bringing people together. And there’s an impact on the business, and I think that’s publicly covered on Bud Light specifically.
When co-host Gayle King asked what the company intended to do, he dismissed the controversy as just being “one can.”
“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. “One thing I’d love to make extremely clear is that impact is my responsibility and as the CEO, everything we do here I’m accountable for.”
Asked if the company would partner with Mulvaney again, he did not give a straight answer.
“There’s a big social conversation taking place right now, and big brands are right in the middle of it and it’s not just our industry or Bud Light. It’s happening in retail, happening in fast food. And so for us what we need to understand is — deeply understand and appreciate — is the consumer and what they want, what they care about and what they expect from big brands,” Whitworth said.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.