Whoopi Goldberg points out something glaringly obvious about row over Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney
Whoopi Goldberg has shared her thoughts on the Barbie Oscars “snub” controversy. (Getty)
Actor Whoopi Goldberg has weighed in on right-wing backlash to Bud Light’s partnership with TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney, simply stating: “We’re all Americans here.”
During Monday’s (17 April) instalment of daytime ABC talk show The View, Whoopi Goldberg and her cohosts Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin addressed the recent beer controversy, with Goldberg noting that Budweiser was her choice of beverage before she quit drinking.
In a debate about the backlash Bud Light’s parent company – Anheuser-Busch – has faced for its partnership with influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Goldberg and her cohosts all unanimously agreed that all people are “American” and the inclusion of Mulvaney was a “smart move”.
Goldberg rightly asked what conservatives are “so angry about”, adding, “beer is not a Democrat or a Republican”.
“It doesn’t have a belief system,” she continued. “It’s just beer”.
In ending the debate, she said: “Listen Budweiser, we’re all Americans here. We appreciate your beer whether it’s light or the regular … Don’t let them scare you.
“Let us scare you.”
‘Let’s get the horses out!’
Co-host Sunny Hostin then brought up the company’s latest advert — which she dubbed a sign of the company “dialling back” after their campaign with Mulvaney sparked backlash.
Budweiser’s new ‘pro-American’ advert features its famous Clydesdale horses, which are seen passing iconic American landmarks such as New York City as a narrator says: “This is a story bigger than beer. This is the story of the American spirit.”
“They unleashed the Clydesdale horses! All the sudden they have this trans, like —” she began, before Goldberg cut her off with, “No, the horse is not trans.”
Hostin continued: “All of a sudden they get this backlash and their response is, ‘Let’s get the horses out!’ And I was like, ‘Because horses are so much more American than trans people’.”
But the brand’s new advert has been mocked on social media, with many right-wing users standing by claims that they will never drink Bud Light again.
One wrote: “Great ad but it’s too late. You went WOKE and now you will go BROKE. Nothing personal but we have to show other corporations their fate if they go down this path.”
Others referenced the lukewarm statement issued by Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth, with one user commenting: “Trans people deserve our support and not some ‘all lives matter’ nothing statement marketing to try and take no side.
“Support Dylan Mulvaney just as she supported you.”
In his statement, Whitworth said the brand “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people”, but the statement has been condemned for “saying nothing” and “meaning nothing” in the face of a wave of vitriolic anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment.
The backlash against Bud Light came after Mulvaney – who rose to prominence for her ‘Days of Girlhood’ series on TikTok – was sent a personalised can of the beer to celebrate one year since she began documenting her transition.
Despite anti-trans bigots promising to boycott the beer, the share price for Bud Light’s parent company has reportedly hit a record high.
But this didn’t stop Kid Rock shooting a supply of Bud Light beer cans while crying because the company sponsored trans social media star Mulvaney.
Days before hysteria over the partnership with Mulvaney took hold, Bud Light’s vice-president Alissa Heinerscheid said that the brand needed to be more inclusive and ditch its “fratty” reputation – or go out of business.
Mulvaney’s partnership with Bud Light has seen a Conservative dad launch a “100 per cent woke-free” beer brand – Conservative Dad’s Ultra Right Beer – in a bid to cash in on angry, anti-trans people who can no longer bring themselves to drink Bud Light.
Her partnership deal with sports brand Nike has also seen anti-trans campaigns call to boycott the brand.
Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, Davies saying she would “boycott” Nike, and shared a photo online of herself wearing New Balance sportswear, even though New Balance, alongside many other sports brands, have supported LGBTQ+ causes and people for years.
This isn’t the first time Whoopi Goldberg has stood up for LGBTQ+ rights, as in July 2022 she addressed remarks by Republican Jim Jordan on a new bill which aims to protect same-sex and interracial marriage.
