Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, responded to controversial transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney‘s claim that the brewer abandoned him after their marketing deal turned into a fiasco that cost the company billions of dollars in market value.
“As we’ve said, 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,” an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said. “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.”
Mulvaney, a man who claims he is a woman, went off on the company in video posted on social media yesterday, saying that he wanted to address the issue because he had an “uncomfy” feeling that he wanted to get off his chest.
“I took a brand deal with a company that I loved. And I posted a sponsored video to my page,” Mulvaney said. “And it must have been a slow news week, because the way that this ad got blown up, you would have thought I was like, on a billboard, or on a TV commercial or something major — but no, it was just an Instagram video.”
The ad, which featured Mulvaney promoting a special can that had his face on it, led to “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined,” Mulvaney said.
“And I should have made this video months ago, but I didn’t. And I was scared,” he said. “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 haven’t really. 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.”
“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,” he later added. “Because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want. And the hate doesn’t end with me, it has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community. And, you know, we’re customers, too. I know a lot of trans and queer people who love beer, and I have some lesbian friends who could drink some of those haters under the table. But to turn a blind eye and pretend everything is okay. It just isn’t an option right now.”
Dylan Mulvaney opens up about how the anti-trans uproar over her Bud Light partnership has affected her mental health. pic.twitter.com/aNiFKMwf0T
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 29, 2023