Some Chicago gay bars have removed Anheuser-Busch products, including Bud Light, from their shelves to protest the company’s response to the backlash over its ad campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Mark Robertson and Mike Sullivan, who own four gay bars on Chicago’s North Side, axed Bud Light and the Chicago-based brew Goose Island from their menus after Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a clarifying statement on the Mulvaney fiasco that did not meet their standards, the Chicago Tribune reported. Robertson co-owns 2Bears Tavern, Jackhammer, The Sofo Tap and Meeting House Tavern in Chicago.
“When we really need support is when a portion of our community is under direct attack on a day-in and day-out basis, which is what is happening to the transgender community,” Robertson told the publication. “This choice by AB InBev, to cut and run as fast as you can away from the conflict, that’s just not what we see as being truly supportive.”
While conservative critics hardly considered Whitworth’s statement an apology to the customers the brand alienated with the Mulvaney stunt, some progressive proponents of LGBT activism believed it conceded too much.
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” Whitworth wrote. “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer. As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.”
The two Chicago entrepreneurs were also upset that Whitworth later tried to further dodge responsibility for the Mulvaney collaboration in an investor conference call by claiming it was not an internally-spearheaded idea but a pitch from external advisers. That was the “real crowning point” that made him want to abandon Anheuser-Busch, Robertson told the Chicago Tribune.
“We simply removed the products because we believe that in order to be a vendor to us and sell your products in our establishments, you cannot be hostile toward any part of our community,” Robertson said. “We took this as hostility toward a significant part of our community.”
The Chicago gay bar boycotts add to the massive sales losses Bud Light has incurred since the Mulvaney partnership.
In April, Bud Light sales dropped 21.4 percent while Budweiser sales dropped 11.5 percent. Meanwhile, Bud Light’s major competitor Coors Light gained 10.9 percent in sales for the month.
On Monday, the financial firm HSBC downgraded the stock of Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) to a “hold” amid growing concerns that backlash against the Mulvaney debacle continues to hamper sales.
The company has taken other rectifying action to minimize the blowback, including placing marketing executives Alissa Heinerscheid and Daniel Blake, who managed the viral Mulvaney Instagram posts, on leave.
Sidetrack, another Chicago bar that is owned by LGBT activists, said in a statement on Instragram that it will no longer offer Anheuser-Busch beers, specifically citing the company’s decision to discontinue the Mulvaney campaign and dismiss the employees behind it.
“Until Anheuser-Busch can clearly demonstrate that they will not acquiesce to the voices of hate that wish to erase LGBTQ+ existence, Sidetrack will continue to boycott their products,” the statement said. “Until then, Sidetrack will continue to partner with brands that work to give back to the LGBTQ+ Community and lift the voices of all its members.