LGBTQ+ bars boycott Bud Light for ‘abandoning’ Dylan Mulvaney: ‘It shows how little they care’
LGBTQ venues are ditching Bud Light over claims its parent company ‘abandoned’ trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. (Getty)
LGBTQ+ venues are ditching Bud Light over claims its parent company “abandoned” trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Anheuser-Busch, the company that owns Bud Light, has been the target of backlash since it sent Mulvaney a personalised beer can, which she shared in a single, sponsored Instagram post.
Bigots were furious. They smashed shelves, threatened Bud Light with bomb threats – Kid Rock even filmed himself shooting a case of Bud Light.
Addressing the furore on 14 April, Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, said he “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people”. His statement has prompted five LGBTQ+ bars in Chicago to drop Bud Light.
Sidetrack Bar shared its plan to boycott the beer on Instagram. It said the company’s move to distance itself from Mulvaney “strongly brings into question their support of the LGBTQ+ community”.
“For 41 years Sidetrack has encouraged liquor and beer companies that have wished to garner the LGBTQ+ customer base to actively support our community,” the bar wrote in an Instagram post on 5 May.
“Bud Light’s recent decision to drop the Dylan Mulvaney campaign, to put on ‘leave’ those who created it, as well as the statement by its CEO, wrongfully validates the position that it is acceptable to acquiesce to the demands of those who do not support the trans community and wish to erase LGBTQ+ visibility.”
Sidetrack stated that it will no longer sell any products from Anheuser-Busch until it can “clearly demonstrate they will not acquiesce to voices of hate that wish to erase LGBTQ+ existence”.
2Bears Tavern Group, which consists of four bars, also in Chicago, shared similar sentiments.
The company’s “decision to drop its support of Mulvaney … shows how little Anheuser-Busch cares about the LGBTQIA+ community, and in particular transgender people, who have been under unrelenting attack in this country,” the group wrote on 5 May, announcing a boycott.
“We must also hold brands accountable if they take active steps against LGBTQ+ equality, visibility and safety.”
The bar group includes 2Bears Tavern Uptown, Jackhammer, Meetinghouse Tavern and the SoFo Tap.
2Bears Tavern Group also criticised Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth’s statement, pinpointing his claim that the company “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people”.
The bar group said this was “tantamount to saying that the rights and safety of transgender people aren’t worthy of debate”.
Following the backlash against her, Mulvaney shared a video on her TikTok addressing the situation.
She explained that while she initially wanted to “take the backseat” and let the fury die down, she has since changed her mind.
“I’ve been offline for a few weeks and a lot has been said about me, some of which is so far from my truth, that I was hearing my name, and I didn’t even know who they were talking about sometimes,” she said on 27 April.
The TikTok sensation said she chose to return to the platform because there are “nearly 13 million people enjoyed me enough at some point to hit the follow button on these apps, and I was like, wait, I wanna talk to those people”.
Maybelline and Nike joined Bud Light on the list of companies being criticised for simply including trans people in their marketing after they recruited Mulvaney to star in adverts.
