The Bud Light Boycott Explained

Bud Light/Instagram

What is quickly becoming known as the Bud Light Boycott is at the top of news feeds this week. Some conservative celebrities, including Travis Tritt, Kid Rock and John Rich, have spoke out against the beer company.

What is the Bud Light Boycott?

The Bud Light Boycott is the result of the company’s recent partnership with transgender star Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, recruited Mulvaney to promote the company’s March Madness contest.

Mulvaney, who boasts 1.7 million Instagram followers, posted a video announcing the partnership on April 1, 2023. In the clip, the influencer sipped a Bud Light and revealed a special can the company made featuring her face.

“This month, I celebrated my day 365 of womanhood, and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever: a can with my face on it,” she shared. A clip shared on her Instagram story showed Mulvaney in a bathtub, sipping Bud Light while waiting on hold with customer service, reminiscent of the brand’s 2023 Super Bowl ad.

Bud Light is a longtime sponsor of country music tours, professional sports teams, music festivals and other large-scale events. Morgan Wallen, Kane Brown, Florida Georgia Line and Post Malone are just a few of the artists who have partnered with the Anheuser-Busch brand in the past. The news of the company’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney caused some country artists to announce that they were boycotting the beer.

Who is boycotting Bud Light?

Kid Rock was the first to speak out against Bud Light, kickstarting a massive online protest. In a video posted by Kid Rock on Monday (April 3), the musician addressed the camera saying, “Grandpa is feeling a little frisky today. Let me say something to all you and be as clear and concise as possible.”

Kid Rock then opened fire on several cases of Bud Light stacked on a table. He concluded the video with a profanity-laden message for Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch. “Have a terrific day,” the said before the clip ended.
STRONG LANGUAGE WARNING!

 

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A post shared by Kid Rock (@kidrock)

Two days later, country legend Travis Tritt follow suit with a Twitter statement against Anheuser-Busch.

In the post, Tritt announced that he was no longer supporting the beer company and was removing all of their products from his tour’s hospitality rider.

Other artists who are deleting Anheuser-Busch products from their hospitality rider might not say so in public for fear of being ridiculed and cancelled. I have no such fear. https://t.co/YgjO9P03tR

— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 6, 2023

In a follow-up post, the “Anymore” singer disclosed that he was sponsored by Budweiser in the ’90s when the company was “American owned.” In 2008, the beer giant sold to InBev, a company created by a merger between a Belgium-based company and  a Brazilian brewer. InBev’s purchase of Anheuser-Busch made it the world’s largest brewer.

In full disclosure, I was on a tour sponsored by Budweiser in the 90’s. That was when Anheuser-Busch was American owned. A great American company that later sold out to the Europeans and became unrecognizable to the American consumer. Such a shame.

— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 6, 2023

Singer, songwriter and business owner John Rich spoke out against Bud Light in a series of posts Wednesday (April 5).

In the first, Rich asks his followers what beer he should replace Bud Light with at his Nashville bar and music venue, Redneck Riviera.

What beer should my bar @rnrbarnash in Nashville replace #BudLight with? @RedneckRiviera

— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) April 5, 2023

He followed Thursday with a minute-long video promoting his American-made Redneck Riviera whiskey. While not mentioning other brands by name, Rich asked his audience, “Do you find yourself having a really tough time finding brands that you can stay loyal to? I can tell you as the owner and founder of Redneck Riviera America blended whiskey, I keep it very simple. We support the three most important things in life. And those are God, family and country.”

Time to make a switch? ⁦@RedneckRiviera⁩ #Whiskey https://t.co/H8UiNbAQQP 👈StoreLocator👆🇺🇸👆🇺🇸👆🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/o9uSoR8DeL

— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) April 6, 2023

How did Anheuser-Busch respond to the backlash?

In a statement to Fox News, Anheuser-Busch defended it’s partnership with Mulvaney, saying:

“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. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public,” an Anheuser-Busch representative told Fox News.