A former executive of Anheuser-Busch reiterated a call for the company’s CEO to quit Monday, citing an ongoing boycott of Bud Light following controversy over the brand’s endorsement of a transgender influencer.
“We just had 600 workers that one of the Anheuser suppliers […] just laid off,” Anson Frericks, a former president of Anheuser Busch Sales & Distribution Company, told Fox Business host Ashley Webster. “Unfortunately, there’s gonna be more workers laid off [unless] we can find the CEO who is going to successfully and confidently address the situation.”
Conservatives started boycotting Bud Light after Anheuser-Busch sent a commemorative can to transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In the news: Bud Light Sinks Lower As Dylan Mulvaney Attacks
Sales plummeted until Bud Light was no longer the best-selling beer in the United States, and the marketing executives responsible for the promotion no longer work for Anheuser-Busch.
“Whitworth has had three chances to come and clearly articulate that this campaign was not in the best interest of Anheuser-Busch shareholders,” Frericks said about Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth. “The shareholders of Anheuser-Busch are those firefighters, doctors, police officers, et cetera, and to make sure that their retirement accounts and 401k accounts are done well, companies develop great products and services, period. Not necessarily to get involved in a lot of different political issues or social issues that are being pushed like Blackrock, State Street, Vanguard. And this CEO has been unable to clearly serve the shareholders and unless he does that, we’re going to have to unfortunately find another CEO who can.”
Bud Light Sinks Lower As Dylan Mulvaney Attacks
Bud Light may be beyond salvaging, as now the brand is being attacked by the person who landed it in hot water with conservatives nearly three months ago.
Transgender activist and social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney bashed Bud Light for not coming to his aid during the marketing debacle that cost the beer billions in sales and two high-level executives their jobs.
Mulvaney on Thursday released an Instagram video trashing Bud Light for not backing him as conservatives criticized what was once America’s best-selling beer for its woke agenda.
Mulvaney said Bud Light’s promotion of beer cans with his image on them, as he celebrated a year of “girlhood,” led to “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined.”
In the news: Bud Light Backlash Continues As Sales Numbers Fall In June
“I patiently waited for things to get better … and I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did,” Mulvaney said in the video. “For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all.”
“Supporting trans people shouldn’t be political,” Mulvaney added. “There should be nothing divisive or controversial about working with us.”
That lack of support, Mulvaney continued, gives “customers permission to be as transphobic and as hateful as they want.”
According to Newsmax, Mulvaney’s video came a day after Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth opted to not say whether the company would work with Mulvaney again.
“Previously the nation’s top-selling brand, the Belgian-based beer giant has taken a $20 billion hit amid a sustained consumer boycott,” Newsmax noted.
Modelo, a Mexican beer, is now the best-selling beer in America.
In the news: Bud Light’s Woes Continue As It Is Bested By A Mexican Competitor
Newsmax noted that the backlash against Bud Light is now spilling over into its other popular brands, Budweiser and Michelob Ultra.
The New York Post reported on Thursday that Bud Light has taken a $20 billion hit since the boycott began, and year-over-year sales were down 28.5% as of June 20, which was the biggest drop since the backlash began.
One person who did not run from Bud Light was country music legend, Garth Brooks.
Brooks recently confirmed that his new bar in Nashville would sell Bud Light.
“The goal is a classic honky-tonk that welcomes all and encourages love and kindness while playing the greatest music in the world in the home of country music,” Brooks told the industry publication Billboard.
“I think diversity is the answer to the problems that are here and the answer to the problems that are coming,” he added. “So I love diversity. All-inclusive, so all are welcome. I understand that might not be other people’s opinions, but that’s OK, man.”
In a humorous response, the satirical website Babylon Bee posted, “In a surprising twist, legendary country music star Garth Brooks has announced that his new bar will in fact be a gay bar, as they will be serving Bud Light.”
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