Bud Light, one of America’s most recognized beer brands, now finds itself cheaper than bottled water in some Pennsylvania stores.

This unprecedented downturn in price is seen as a reaction to a poorly received endorsement deal involving Anheuser-Busch, the beer’s parent company, and Dylan Mulvaney, a prominent transgender influencer.

On April 1, Mulvaney, who asserts a female identity, celebrated one year of womanhood by posting a video on Instagram flaunting a Bud Light can emblazoned with her image.

The video, reaching 1.8 million followers, triggered an unanticipated backlash, causing Bud Light sales to fall drastically.

Commenting on the slump, Andy Wagner, the manager of Glenn Miller’s Beer & Soda Warehouse in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, said, “At this point, it’s cheaper than some of the cases of water we’re selling in the back.”

He noted that the customers hadn’t quit drinking beer, but they have decidedly stopped buying Bud Light, adding that Anheuser-Busch violated the “bar rules” of avoiding politics and religion.

The impact on Bud Light, which enjoyed over two decades as America’s top-selling beer and grossed over $5 billion in sales in 2022, is severe. B

y mid-June, the beer’s sales had dropped an average of 29 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, as per data from Bump Williams Consulting.

Similarly, since early April, the stock of Anheuser-Busch has nosedived by over 15%.

Despite this market reaction, Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, refrained from acknowledging the endorsement deal as a mistake.

During a CBS “This Morning” interview, Whitworth described the fallout as “divisive,” and explained that, “Bud Light should be about bringing people together.”

When asked about the company’s intentions behind the personalized beer can, Whitworth simply responded, “It was a gift and it was one can.”

Yet as customers show their disagreement with the company’s recent decision through their purchasing habits, the question remains whether Anheuser-Busch will reconsider such politically-charged endorsements in the future.

According to Whitworth, the company intends to “focus on what we do best, which is brewing great beer for everyone,” and “make an impact in the communities that we serve.”

RELATED” New Map Showing Most Popular Beer By State Spells Even More Bad News For Bud Light