It is unclear who approved the decision to collaborate with Dylan Mulvaney for Bud Light’s marketing, but the backlash was immediate and intense. From country musicians to politicians, many publicly denounced Bud Light and launched boycotts.
Kid Rock famously fired shots at cases of Bud Light to express his disapproval, while Travis Tritt eliminated Anheuser-Busch products from his tour hospitality rider. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene also switched from Bud Light to Coors Light.
I would have bought the king of beers, but it changed it’s gender to the queen of beers.
So it’s made to chill from here on out. pic.twitter.com/QNC5j8qtKI— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) April 8, 2023
Many people noted that Coors is very much involved in “woke capitalism” and is not significantly different from Budweiser in that regard. In fact, according to an analysis from Newsweek, half of the top-selling beers in America have collaborated with LGBTQ+ groups or advocates.
“While conservative campaigners are focusing on Bud Light, Newsweek found that five of the top 10 best-selling beers in the United States have LGBTQ+ partnerships, with the figure increasing to all 10 if parent companies are included,” Newsweek reported. “According to Beer Marketer’s Insights shipping data, analyzed by 24/7 Wall Street, the 10 best-selling beers in the U.S. are Bud Light, Coors Light, Budweiser, Miller Lite, Corona Extra, Michelob Ultra, Modelo Especial, Natural Light, Busch Light and Busch.”
“Coors Light, Budweiser, Miller Lite and Michelob Ultra have all run pro-LGBTQ+ campaigns, though have not attracted the same level of backlash as Bud Light,” the report explains. “For a number of years, Coors Light has been sponsoring the Denver PrideFest and also supports the Center on Colfax, an LGBTQ+ facility in the city. GLAAD, an LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization, has described Coors as “among the most progressive for its employee policies toward gays.”
Is that the same things as partnering with a man who became famous by pretending to be a girl? No, but conservatives ought to know that when it comes to beer, many of the popular options are just as woke as Bud Light.
Budweiser has also sponsored a number of LGBTQ+ events, including London Pride and Toronto Pride in 2019. The same year saw the company release a special rainbow-colored bottle for World Pride, to raise money for GLAAD.
According to its official website, Miller Lite has given $450,000 to the Equality Federation, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, with the brand launching its “Open & Proud” campaign in 2021. In partnership with the federation, it promotes inclusivity in bars where Miler Lite is served.
Michelob Ultra announced in 2021 that it had partnered with CeCe Telfer, an LGBTQ+ advocate and the “first openly transgender female athlete to win an NCAA title.”
Busch, Busch Light and Natural Light are all owned by Anheuser-Busch—the same company that owns Bud Light and Budweiser.
Anheuser-Busch has sponsored a number of LGBTQ+ events, including San Diego Pride, and in 2015 was listed by the Human Rights Campaign as one of the “best places to work” for LGBTQ+ employees.
Although I don’t recommend boycotting companies over politics, everyone has their breaking point. I recently stopped supporting Starbucks after discovering that the company has a policy to cover travel expenses for employees to seek gender-transitioning procedures for their children. This caused me to end my decades-long loyalty to the brand. Sometimes, companies take things too far. Luckily for me, I rarely drink beer.
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