The CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the parent company of Bud Light, said the beer should be about bringing people together after it faced months of backlash following its brief partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In an appearance Wednesday on the programme CBS This Morning, CEO Brendan Whitworth said the company has become entangled in “divisive” conversations it should not be a part of.
“I think the conversation surrounding Bud Light has moved away from beer, and the conversation has become divisive,” Mr Whitworth said. “And Bud Light really doesn’t belong there. Bud Light should be all about bringing people together.”
At the moment, that is not what’s happening. Bud Light last month lost its spot at the top of the beer sales charts to Modelo as some conservative customers continue to boycott the beer following the advertisements featuring Ms Mulvaney.
Mr Whitworth declined to answer directly when asked whether the campaign featuring Ms Mulvaney was a mistake.
“There’s a big social conversation taking place right now, and big brands are right in the middle of it and it’s not just our industry or Bud Light,” Mr Whitworth said. “It’s happening in retail, happening in fast food. And so for us what we need to understand — deeply understand and appreciate — is the consumer and what they want, what they care about, and what they expect from big brands.”
Despite being given ample opportunity to do so, Mr Whitworth did not directly defend the corporation’s decision to partner with a trans influencer or to support the trans community more broadly at a time when that community is facing a barrage of legislation targeting its rights in states across the country.
“Bud Light has supported LGBTQ since 1998, so that’s 25 years,” Mr Whitworth said. “And as we’ve said from the beginning, we’ll continue to support the communities and organisations we’ve supported for decades. But as we move forward, we want to focus on what we do best: which is brewing great beer for everyone.”
The controversy over corporations’ politics is not limited to Bud Light. Disney, Target, Nike and a number of other brands have also been the target of the right’s ire in recent years for taking stances on social issues at odds with conservatives.
Target recently announced its decision to remove some Pride month merchandise from its stores after facing criticism from conservatives for its relative support of the LGBTQ+ community. The Starbucks Workers Union, meanwhile, accused Starbucks of restricting Pride decorations from certain stores.
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