Dylan Mulvaney Says Bud Light Didn’t Support Her During Backlash Sales Fell 26%

Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, claims she felt abandoned by Bud Light after experiencing “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined” due to her collaboration with the beer giant.

In a Thursday video broadcast to Instagram and TikTok, she stated that she “was waiting for the brand to reach out to me.” “However, they never did.” She admitted that she should have spoken up sooner, but she was terrified and thought things would improve – but they didn’t.

“I’ve been afraid to leave my house for months,” Mulvaney explained. “I’ve been mocked in public. I’ve been stalked, and I’ve experienced loneliness I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”

In a statement on Friday, Anheuser-Busch did not immediately answer to Mulvaney. However, the organization stated it is “committed to the programmes and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.”

Mulvaney received a barrage of anger and vitriol after cracking open a Bud Light in an Instagram video on April 1 as part of a promotional campaign for the beer company. She displayed a Bud Light can be imprinted with her visage, one of many corporate freebies she receives and shares with her millions of followers.

Conservative leaders and others have called for a boycott of Bud Light, while Mulvaney supporters have chastised the beer company for not supporting her.

Bud Light has lost its decades-long title as America’s best-selling beer since two marketing executives at parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev took a leave of absence.

Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, claims she felt abandoned by Bud Light

According to Bump Williams Consulting, which tracks the industry, Bud Light’s U.S. retail sales fell 26% in the four weeks ending June 17 compared to the same period a year earlier. In the same period, sales of Modelo Especial, which surpassed Bud Light as the country’s best-selling beer in retail dollar sales, increased by 9%. Modelo had an 8.4% market share, while Bud Light had 7.1%.

The Human Rights Campaign, the country’s leading LGBTQ+ rights advocacy organization, has also suspended its benchmark equality and inclusion rating for Anheuser-Busch, a Belgian brewer A.B. InBev subsidiary.

“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all — because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” Mulvaney stated, without identifying Bud Light.

Anheuser-Busch stated that it prioritizes its employees’ and partners’ safety and privacy and will continue to focus on making “beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers.”

Other firms, such as Target and Starbucks, had lately come under fire for their efforts to pander to the LGBTQ+ community, particularly during June’s Pride celebrations, only to face even greater backlash when they attempted to backtrack.

The conflicts occur amid a heated and rapidly increasing discussion about transgender rights. At least 17 states have passed legislation restricting or prohibiting gender-affirming care for kids, with the majority passing legislation since the beginning of the year.

SOURCE – (AP)