Everything to Know About the Bud Light Controversy

Why is everyone talking about Bud Light backlash? Here's a timeline of the social media campaign against the beer brand that began when they partnered with a transgender influencer

When Dylan Mulvaney, an actor and social media influencer who is transgender, posted a short clip from her partnership with beer brand Bud Light to Twitter, it didn't appear any more controversial than the many other influencer "spon con" posts that happen on any given day.

However, the post sparked negative commentary among conservative social media personalities, politicians and celebrities, many of whom used transphobic rhetoric to attack Bud Light for turning to “woke” advertising and playing off of the current political climate, which has seen a significant rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policy being introduced in many conservative legislatures. Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch, was also targeted.

Mulvaney, who has more than 10.8 million followers, found herself at the controversy's center. The video — which featured the social media personality announcing a March Madness-related contest in partnership with Bud Light — was met with immediate backlash against Bud Light's decision to partner with someone in the LGBTQ community.

On social media, Bud Light critics called for a "boycott" of the brand, in addition to Anheuser-Busch's portfolio of products, which include Budweiser, Busch, Stella Artois, Michelob Ultra and Hoegarden. Others shared videos of themselves shooting beer cans and lighting beer boxes on fire.

Related: Dylan Mulvaney Wows in a Crystal-Covered Gown for Tony Awards Debut: ‘This Is My Super Bowl, Y’all’

Bud Light is among other retail brands including Adidas and Target that have been subject to a small but vitriolic community of people who target them for marketing to LGBTQ. consumers — which has included harassing retail workers and calling in bomb threats. And the brand's responses (in the case of Target and Bud Light, to pull back on their marketing efforts to the LGBTQ community) have caused disappointment in people with more inclusive points of view.

“Bud Light’s missteps felt like a betrayal to both its liberal and conservative customers, and that trust is going to take months, if not years, to rebuild,” Daniel Korschun, an associate professor of marketing at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, told the New York Times.

In the months that followed, Anheuser-Busch has released a statement acknowledging the controversy. The company's CEO expressed his intentions in a letter posted to the Anheuser-Busch website on April 14. Mulvaney has also responded to the matter.

Read on for everything to know about the Bud Light controversy, from when it began to what's been said about it.

When did the Bud Light controversy begin?

On April 1, when Dylan Mulvaney — an influencer who has 1.8 million Instagram followers and who is transgender — uploaded a video to her social media account to promote a Bud Light contest.

The clip, which was less than a minute long, focused primarily on promoting Bud Light's “Easy Carry Contest,” a $15,000 giveaway tied to March Madness sponsored by the beer brand. Throughout the video, Mulvaney poked fun at her lack of sports knowledge, particularly basketball.

"Happy March Madness!! Just found out this had to do with sports and not just saying it’s a crazy month! In celebration of this sports thing @budlight is giving you the chance to win $15,000! Share a video with #EasyCarryContest for a chance to win!! Good luck! #budlightpartner" she captioned her post.

At one point in the video, Mulvaney mentioned that Bud Light sent her a tallboy with her face on it — a present that was gifted in celebration of her “Days of Girlhood” series marking one full year in March. The series began as a kind of video diary of her transition, each day detailing the minor or major issues of being a girl.

"This month, I celebrated my Dylan Mulvaney’s Day 365 of Womanhood and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever... a can with my face on it," she said in the video. Mulvaney also commemorated the milestone with “Dylan Mulvaney’s Day 365," a live show at Rockefeller Center.

Why are people boycotting Bud Light?

Conservative fans of the beer brand, including celebrities and other public figures, responded with outrage which has only increased in the months that followed.

Prominent voices called for a boycott, many of whom have a history of speaking against the transgender community. Some went beyond refusing to buy the brand and went to the trouble to shoot cans of Bud Light or set boxes on fire.

In recent months, Bud Light has lost its spot as the top-selling beer brand and put marketing executives on leave in response to the backlash. In April, one of its factories reportedly received a bomb threat amid the ongoing backlash.

“The safety of our employees is always our top priority,” an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “We worked quickly with local law enforcement to ensure the security of our people and our facilities.”

While the representative did not identify specific locations that had been threatened, the Los Angeles police department told CNN that "it responded to a bomb threat and conducted a sweep of an Anheuser-Busch brewery in the Van Nuys neighborhood."

Related: TikTok Star Dylan Mulvaney on Her Facial Feminization Surgery Results — and Dealing with Beard Hair  

What has Dylan Mulvaney said about the Bud Light backlash?

Mulvaney took a break from TikTok after uploading the Bud Light partnership video on April 1. On April 27 she spoke to her fans and addressed the anti-trans rhetoric she and others were receiving.

"I grew up in a conservative family and I'm extremely privileged because they still love me very much," she began. "But what I'm struggling to understand is the need to dehumanize and to be cruel. I just don't think that's right."

The anti-trans activist went on to express her concerns amid the "loud" comments being made about her — specifically, that she was "nervous" her followers "were going to start believing the things that they were saying."

However, Mulvaney said she's going to "trust" that the people who "know" her and her heart "won't listen to that noise" — and also thanked supporters who might not fully understand or identify with her.

Mulvaney concluded by listing what she's interested in moving forward, like "making people laugh" and "to never stop learning." She said, "I want to share stuff on here that have nothing to do with my identity and I'm hoping those parts will still be exciting."

How has Bud Light responded to the backlash?

On April 14, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth released a statement on the company's website, writing about the "importance of accountability" and taking responsibility "for ensuring every consumer feels proud."

"We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer," the statement continued. Whitworth went on to state his focus for the brand, which includes "building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage."

He concluded: "Moving forward, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across our nation."

A brand statement issued at the time attempted to mitigate the increasingly angry discourse: “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics. From time to time we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney."

The statement also clarified, "this commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public."

Anheuser-Busch also announced in late April the exit of two marketing executives and said in early May that it would focus its marketing campaigns on sports and music. However, the New York Times pointed out how "the company’s attempt to backtrack drew further criticism, this time from liberals and members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community."

Related: TikTok Star Dylan Mulvaney on Dating as a Trans Woman: 'I Get a Do-Over'

Have celebrities reacted to the Bud Light backlash?

Musician Kid Rock was among the first celebrities to react, posting a video which featured himself shooting a stack of Bud Light cases while wearing a MAGA hat on April 3, two days after Mulvaney's video was uploaded.

Country singer Travis Tritt tweeted shortly after, “I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same.”

Other artists spoke out against the negative rhetoric. Country musician Jason Isbell, for example, even spoke out against Kid Rock through a string of tweets. One included a retweet of the Kid Rock's shooting video paired with a comedic dig, which read: “Is this one of those three words you wish you could say to your teenage self things.”

Posted on April 8, country singer Zach Bryan's tweet read in part: “I just think insulting transgender people is completely wrong because we live in a country where we can all just be who we want to be. It’s a great day to be alive I thought.”

Garth Brooks told Billboard on June 7 that he’ll be serving “every brand of beer” at his Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk in Nashville. “We just are. It’s not our decision to make. Our thing is this, if you [are let] into this house, love one another,” he said. “If you’re an a–hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway.”

Howard Stern voiced his opinion on his SiriusXM radio show on April 10, saying he was "dumbfounded by why someone would care so much” about a trans person acting as a spokesperson for the beer brand. "I thought there must be a piece of this story that I’m missing,” he began.

“I’m not bothered by gay people or transsexual people. They don’t impact my life, they don’t hurt my life," Stern continued. "I love when people are in love. You wanna be a woman? Be a woman. You wanna be a dude, be a dude. Be whatever you f—ing want. As long as you ain’t hurting anybody, I’m on your team.”

Has Bud Light reached out to Dylan Mulvaney in the wake of the backlash?

On June 29, Mulvaney uploaded a video to her TikTok, seemingly addressing Bud Light for the first time publicly. In the clip, she called out Anheuser-Busch for not reaching out to her amid harmful transphobic rhetoric that followed their partnership. (Mulvaney did not directly use the company's name.)

She began the video by saying, "One thing I will not tolerate people saying about me is that I don’t like beer, and I always have." She also captioned the post, “Trans people like beer too."

Mulvaney went on to summarize the sequence of events. She then explained that she was waiting for the brand to reach out to her over the past few months, but “they never did.” The influencer listed out the negative effects the subsequent response to the ad have had on her.

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