Sorry, right-wingers – most US beer-drinkers support campaigns like Dylan Mulvaney’s
New polling suggests that most US beer-drinkers support brand’s partnering with trans spokespeople like Dylan Mulvaney. (Getty/Instagram @dylanmulvaney)
Despite the bigoted backlash to TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney’s Bud Light partnership, most American beer-drinkers actually feel positively about brands that work with trans spokespeople.
In case you’ve missed it, trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney has been at the heart of a transphobic social media storm since 1 April, after posting a personalist can of Bud Light on Instagram.
Right-wing transphobes were outraged, destroying shelves of beers, promising boycotts and – in the case of musician and MAGA supporter Kid Rock – filming themselves shooting boxes of Bud Light cans. One ‘conservative dad’ even launched his own “100 per cent woke free beer”, although he’s reportedly having trouble finding a brewery willing to craft it.
The backlash saw facilities of Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, targeted with bomb threats across the US.
Mulvaney has received hate online, with right-wing conspiracy theorist and Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene calling the influencer “one of the biggest paedophiles in America today” in a now-removed podcast episode.
But despite all the noise, new polling has found that American beer-drinkers are actually more progressive and accepting, with a majority (53 per cent) saying they would feel “favorably” toward a brand that works with a trans spokesperson, compared with 47 per cent of US adults overall who said the same.
The survey by Morning Consult found that beer consumers also felt more positively about this type of marketing partnership than beauty, entertainment, pharmaceutical and auto consumers.
When asked whether they would support a brand that hired a trans spokesperson, or more modern/inclusive advertising talent, Democrats were most likely to say yes, with Gen Z adults, millennials and monthly beer drinkers following with next-highest levels of favourability.
Republicans were least likely to respond positively, Just under half (49 per cent) said they were “unfavourable” towards both marketing activities, although over a quarter (26 per cent) said they would support a brand’s partnering with a trans spokesperson.
Despite the backlash against Bud Light giving Mulvaney a free beer with her face on it, financial magazine The Street reported earlier this month that the share price for Bud Light’s parent company had “vaulted to 52-week highs”.
On Friday (28 April), Mulvaney broke her silence on the wave of transphobic vitriol following her partnerships with Bud Light, Nike and Maybelline, telling followers: “I’ve always tried to love everyone. Even the people that make it really hard.
“I think it’s OK to be frustrated with someone or confused, but what I’m struggling to understand is the need to dehumanise and be cruel.
“I don’t think that’s right. Dehumanisation has never fixed anything in history, ever.”
