In response to a recent conservative-led boycott of Bud Light, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis released a spoof beer advertisement on Monday night, aimed at male athletes who compete in women’s sports.
The ad, posted on the DeSantis War Room Twitter account, parodies the early 2000s Bud Light commercial “Real Men of Genius” and follows the beer company’s announcement of its partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
The spoof ad features transgender athletes, including former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, and sarcastically congratulates them for their performances in the women’s division.
A voice-over in the video states, “Today we recognize the men who’ve hacked the system. Once mediocre in the men’s division, now cream of the crop in the women’s. You couldn’t cut it with the boys, so you pushed women off the podium. Because without you, women’s sports would be fair. Without you, women’s sports would be for, well, women.”
The advertisement promotes a limited-time collection called “Freedom Heavy,” sponsored by Friends of Ron DeSantis.
The collection features products such as pint glasses, t-shirts, hats, and koozies.
According to the website, the items are made “100% woke-free.”
The DeSantis War Room tweet accompanying the ad reads, “In Florida, girls play girls’ sports and boys play boys’ sports. That’s why we are replacing Bud Light with FREEDOM HEAVY.”
The backlash against Bud Light has had a significant impact on its parent company, Anheuser-Busch.
Stocks have plunged by $6 billion since the partnership with Mulvaney was made public on April 1.
In a show of disapproval, country music singer Riley Green changed the lyrics of his song “I Wish Grandpas Never Died” to replace Bud Light with Coors Light while performing in Nashville on April 14, as reported by the New York Post.
The controversy surrounding transgender athletes in sports has intensified in recent years.
Several states, including Florida, have passed legislation preventing trans athletes from competing in women’s sports.
Proponents of these laws argue that they protect the integrity of women’s sports, while opponents claim that such legislation discriminates against transgender individuals and infringes on their rights.
Governor DeSantis has been a vocal supporter of maintaining separate sports categories for boys and girls, based on biological sex.
In June 2021, he signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act into law, which prohibits transgender girls and women from participating in female sports teams at the public-school level.
The legislation has been met with both praise and criticism, reflecting the ongoing debate on this contentious issue.