Bud Light boss slams Dylan Mulvaney ‘misinformation’ campaign

A split imiage of the beer can that Dylan Mulvaney received and her Instagram video.

Michel Doukeris, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, has said it’s “too early” to assess the impact anti-trans backlash over its sponsored post with influencer Dylan Mulvaney has had on the company. 

During the Anheuser-Busch’s May earnings call, Doukeris shared that the company had only suffered a tiny drop in global sales volume following collaborating with Mulvaney.

He said: “The Bud Light volume decline in the US over the first three weeks of April, as publicly reported, would represent around 1 per cent of our overall global volumes for that period,” CNN reported. 

Doukeris went on to acknowledge that the only solid impact the backlash had was on the safety of Anheuser-Busch employees.

He revealed backlash to Bud Light working with Mulvaney had “impacted our people and especially our frontline workers,” with its factory in Van Nuys, Los Angeles being the target of a bomb threat in early April. 

He blasted “misinformation” surrounding the company’s sponsored post with Mulvaney, stating that it wasn’t an advert campaign and the beer can had not been made for product or sale to the public. 

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“This was one can, one influencer, one post, and not a campaign.”

beer dylan mulvaney
New polling suggests that most US beer-drinkers support brand’s partnering with trans spokespeople like Dylan Mulvaney. (Getty/Instagram @dylanmulvaney)

Budweiser has been at the centre of a bigoted backlash since 1 April, when Mulvaney posted an Instagram video revealing a special can of Bud Light with her face on it, in honour of celebrating her 365 days of womanhood.

Mulvaney’s sponsored post saw anti-trans bigots record themselves pouring away or binning the beer, with a self-described ‘Conservative Dad’ jumping on the backlash to brew his own “anti-woke” beer”. 

Trump-supporting musician Kid Rock filmed himself shooting four large boxes of Bud Light with an assault weapon.

Following the anti-trans hysteria, Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, issued a lukewarm statement on 14 April that was condemned for condemned for “saying nothing” and “meaning nothing”. 

Despite the transphobic backlash, financial magazine The Street reported that Anheuser-Busch stock has “vaulted to 52-week highs”. 

Mulvaney’ who shares her gender-affirming journey with the world via her “Days of Girlhood” TikTok series, has faced heaps of backlash from anti-trans figures due to her far-reaching social media. 

After partnering with Mulvaney in April 2023, sportswear manufacturer Nike joined the list of companies being criticised for simply including trans people in their marketing. 

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