Rating: Trans supportive neutral phobic, National Review, August 6, 2023 (PDF archive) (HTML archive)
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Bud Light Heir Denounces Dylan Mulvaney Transgender-Influencer Partnership
‘My Ancestors Would Have Rolled Over in Their Graves’: Bud Light Heir Denounces Transgender-Influencer Partnership National Review
‘My Ancestors Would Have Rolled Over in Their Graves’: Bud Light Heir Denounces Transgender-Influencer Partnership
By ARI BLAFF
August 6, 2023 9:14 AM
Billy Busch, an heir of the alcohol giant Anheuser-Busch, blasted Bud Light’s recent branding partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, saying “my ancestors would have rolled over in their graves.”
“They believed that transgender, gays – that sort of thing – was all a very personal issue,” Busch told TMZ on Friday. “They loved this country because it is a free country and people are allowed to do what they want, but it was never meant to be on a beer can and pushed in people’s faces.”
“I think people who drink beer, I think they’re your common folk,” Busch continued.
I think they are the blue-collar worker who goes and works hard every single day. The last thing they want pushed down their throat or to be drinking is a beer can with that kind of message on it. I just don’t think that’s what they’re looking for. They want their beer to be truly American, truly patriotic, as it always has been. Truly, America’s beer, which Bud Light was and probably isn’t any longer.
Harvey Levin, TMZ founder, later challenged Busch to explain why the Mulvaney sponsorship arrangement did not reflect American values that fit with Bud Light’s traditional image. “I just don’t think the audience that drinks beer is into transgenders,” Busch said. “People who drink beer care about wholesome things.”
However, the answer did not satisfy Levin, a former Trump supporter. “Absolutely it’s prejudice,” the tabloid giant responded. “Look, I remember my dad telling me stories that there were bars in LA that used to have signs that said, ‘No dogs, no Jews.’ So there’s been a history of prejudice in the country. People get over certain things. It’s happened to Jews. It’s happened to black people. It’s happening to gay people, and it’s happening to transgender people. So to me, it is absolutely prejudice.”
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On Thursday, Anheuser-Busch reported a drop in sales and profit in their most recent quarter of operations as the fallout from its partnership with Mulvaney continues to take a toll.
The company’s revenue stateside continued to decline, falling by more than 10 percent this quarter compared to the same period last year, according to latest earnings report. The company said the drop was “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light” following the conservative-led boycott of the brand.
Bud Light lost its claim to being America’s most popular beer in mid May and was replaced by Modelo Especial. “Our year is screwed,” one Anheuser-Busch distributor who doesn’t carry Modelo told the Wall Street Journal at the time.
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