Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Brendan Whitworth issued an apology on Friday as the beer giant faces a massive backlash over its sponsorship deal with controversial transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The deal sparked widespread calls for a boycott of the nation’s largest beer company, leading to a $5 billion decrease in market value since the campaign’s launch on April 1.
In his statement, Whitworth did not specifically mention the sponsorship deal or reports that senior executives were not informed about the Mulvaney rollout.
Instead, he said, “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.
We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.” He added that he was “focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage” and vowed to continue working to bring great beers to consumers across the nation.
The beer company had previously defended its decision to work with Mulvaney, an trans activist and influencer with more than 10 million TikTok followers.
An Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told Fox News, “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.”
Alissa Heinerscheid, Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of marketing, discussed the campaign during the “Make Yourself at Home” podcast last week.
She explained her goal of transforming Bud Light’s brand by attracting younger drinkers to reverse its decline.
Heinerscheid criticized the company’s previous branding, calling it a “hangover” and characterized by “fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor.”
The ad campaign has faced significant backlash from conservatives who claim the beer maker is pushing “gender propaganda.”
Country music singer John Rich removed cases of Bud Light from his Nashville bar, and rocker Kid Rock used several Bud Light cases for target practice in a viral video. Additionally, Anheuser-Busch distributors in rural areas have expressed their concerns.
This week, Budweiser factories nationwide have reportedly been targeted by a series of bomb threats.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed on Thursday that officers responded to a call from the Anheuser-Busch facility in the Van Nuys area.
A spokesperson for the St. Louis-based beermaker told Patch that several other facilities across the country had also received bomb threats, though the total number of targeted locations remains unclear.