In light of what it considers to be anti-trans acts by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Uptown LGBTQ+ spot 2Bears Tavern Group is discontinuing all Anheuser Busch InBev products, including Busch Light, Bud Light and Goose Island 312.
Mark Robertson and Mike Sullivan, the co-owners of 2Bears Tavern Group, listed what it called "Anheuser Busch InBev's abandonment of its support of transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, the subsequent reprehensible and divisive comments by its CEO, and Anheuser Busch putting on involuntary leave at least two marketing executives involved in the marketing campaign that celebrated Mulvaney's transgender journey."
The release continued, "CEO Brendan Whitworth's excuse that Anheuser Busch 'never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people' was tantamount to saying that the rights and safety of transgender people are topics worthy of debate. They are not. You cannot claim to support the LGBTQIA+ community if you don't support the T. And saying that the rights and safety of transgender people are controversial says loudly and clearly you don't support us. … Since Anheuser Busch does not support us, we will not support it.
"We gave Anheuser Busch some time to revisit its position, hoping it would realize it acted in haste. It did not. Instead, it went further in the wrong direction, apparently seeking to punish the people who came up with the plan to recognize Mulvaney in the first place by placing several of them on leave. That speaks volumes as to how far [Anheuser-Busch] will go to placate those in this country who sow hate and division."
On May 4, the top executive of Anheuser-Busch disavowed the embattled company's ties to Mulvaney as sales of the beer implode, per The New York Post. "We need to clarify the facts that this was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign," Michel Doukeris told investors during an earnings call.
While Mulvaney's post promoting a Bud Light can featuring her was several weeks ago, the company saw sales lower throughout April following an April 3 video from musician/noted conservative Kid Rock, prompting a boycott among anti-trans U.S. consumers, according to Yahoo! Finance.
—Andrew Davis
