Howard Stern said on Monday that he was "dumbfounded" by artists such as Kid Rock and Travis Tritt boycotting Bud Light after the revelation of the brand's partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“I thought there must be a piece of this story that I’m missing,” he said on his SiriusXM radio show.
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“I’m not bothered by gay people or transsexual people. They don’t impact my life, they don’t hurt my life. I love when people are in love," he said.
Stern added: "You wanna be a woman? Be a woman. You wanna be a dude, be a dude. Be whatever you f***ing want. As long as you ain’t hurting anybody, I’m on your team.”
After the partnership between Bud Light and Mulvaney was revealed earlier this month, Rock posted a video of himself shooting several cases of the beer with a gun before saying, "F*** Bud Light and f*** Anheuser-Busch."
“I wish I could call Kid Rock and have him come on the show and just tell me, ‘Why are you so upset about this? How is it hurtful?’" Stern said. "I don’t know why he got so upset.”
(Photo by Al Wagner/Invision/AP)
(Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP)
“Kid Rock, I know him. He’s got a great life. He transitioned from some kid in Michigan to a rock superstar! I’m really dumbfounded by why someone would care so much that they would blow up a can of Bud Light and say, ‘F*** Anheuser-Busch.’ I don’t get it," he continued.
Country music star Travis Tritt similarly announced that he would be dropping Anheuser-Busch products from his tour after the Mulvaney partnership.
"I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same," he said. "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."
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Of Tritt, Stern said, "I would like to interview the guy. I’m coming from a place of, ‘Why you care so much?'”
Despite the backlash, Anheuser-Busch has not backed down. In a statement, the company reportedly said, “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.”