Best Places To Buy Bud Light's Trans Beer

Bud Light's partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked a right-wing boycott in 2023. The backlash led to two executives being placed on leave. However, the controversy also prompted calls for a reverse boycott, or buycott, encouraging people to purchase Bud Light to show support for the brand's LGBTQ+ partnerships.

Bud Light's partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney

The partnership sparked a right-wing boycott, with notable Republican figures like U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, and conservative celebrities and politicians like Kid Rock, joining the call to boycott the brand. The video also received criticism from conservative commentators John Cardillo and Ben Shapiro, who amplified transphobic criticism of Mulvaney on their popular Twitter accounts.

The backlash to the partnership also included targeted harassment of Bud Light executives, with two executives going on leave following the controversy. Despite this, Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch, stood by its partnership with Mulvaney, stating that the company works with hundreds of influencers across its brands.

The partnership with Mulvaney is not the first time Bud Light has shown support for the LGBTQ+ community. The brand has touted its Pride campaigns for more than 20 years, including a rainbow aluminium bottle for Pride month in 2022.

The right-wing boycott of Bud Light

Bud Light's partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked a right-wing boycott. Mulvaney celebrated a year since transitioning with a custom Bud Light can featuring her face on it, which she called her first year of "girlhood". The can with Mulvaney's face is not for sale, but the company announced an upcoming line of Pride-themed cans featuring different pronouns. The video was met with both positive and negative feedback. Critics said the beer brand should "know its audience" and demanded Bud Light cut ties with Mulvaney and stop "going woke". Some posted videos of them dumping out cases of the beer.

U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R., Texas) filmed a video of his Bud Light-less fridge but accidentally stocked up on other Anheuser-Busch beers instead. Conservative commentators John Cardillo and Ben Shapiro amplified transphobic criticism of Mulvaney on their popular Twitter accounts. Cardillo also misgendered and tweeted transphobic remarks about Mulvaney.

Two executives at Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, were placed on leave following the backlash. Alissa Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing for Bud Light, and Daniel Blake, who oversees marketing for Anheuser-Busch’s mainstream brands, were the two executives placed on leave.

The boycott of Bud Light is part of a larger trend of conservative backlash against major food and drink companies that have partnered with transgender influencers or expressed support for the LGBTQ community. Other companies that have faced similar backlash include Hershey, Coke, and M&M's.

Bud Light's Pride campaigns

Bud Light has been a supporter of the LGBTQ community for over 20 years, with the brand touting its Pride campaigns for more than two decades. In 2022, the brand released a rainbow aluminium bottle for Pride month. In 2023, the company announced an upcoming line of Pride-themed cans featuring different pronouns. This was sparked by a partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who celebrated a year since transitioning with a custom Bud Light can with her face on it. The can with Mulvaney's face is not for sale, but the company has faced a conservative backlash and boycott over the partnership, with some critics saying the beer brand should "know its audience".

Other major beer brands that have expressed support for the LGBTQ+ community

Bud Light's partnership with a trans influencer sparked a right-wing boycott, with some people posting videos of them dumping out cases of the beer. The company has been supporting the LGBTQ+ community for over 20 years, with Pride campaigns and a rainbow aluminium bottle for Pride month.

• Miller Light, which partnered with Equality Federation in 2021 to launch their Open & Proud program, which seeks to make the 55,000 bars that serve their beer more inclusive to the LGBTQ+ community. In the 1990s, Miller Light sponsored Pride events in New York City and in 2000 they became one of the first companies to offer same-sex domestic partnership benefits.
• Modelo Especial, which is owned by Constellation Brands, which has a history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
• Corona, which is also owned by Constellation Brands, which has partnered with Stonewall Sports, an organisation that promotes LGBTQ+ participation.
• Coors Light, Budweiser, and Michelob Ultra, which have all run pro-LGBTQ+ campaigns, though they have not attracted the same level of backlash as Bud Light.
• DuClaw Brewery, which has shown support by donating to LGBTQ+ causes, releasing limited-edition drinks to show support, and marching in Pride parades.

The backlash against the Bud Light promotion and the leave of two executives

In April 2023, Bud Light faced a backlash from conservative celebrities and politicians after a promotion with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Mulvaney posted a video to her 1.8 million Instagram followers to promote a Bud Light March Madness contest, in which she showed a can of Bud Light with her face on it. This sparked calls for a boycott of the brand, followed by calls for a reverse boycott, or 'buycott', to show support for the marketing.

Amid slumping sales and criticism of the company's response to the backlash, which included targeted harassment of one of the executives, Bud Light maker Anheuser-Busch InBev announced that two executives were on leave. Alissa Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing for Bud Light, and Daniel Blake, who oversees marketing for Anheuser-Busch's mainstream brands, were placed on a leave of absence.

Heinerscheid had previously faced criticism from conservatives for a resurfaced podcast interview in which she discussed moving Bud Light away from its "fratty" ties. Mulvaney also spoke out about the level of bullying the transgender community and their allies face.

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