Friday afternoon, after a couple of week of social media silence, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth put out a statement about Dylan Mulvaney’s appearance in Bud Light promotional material:
As the CEO of a company founded in America’s heartland more than 165 years ago, I am responsible for ensuring every consumer feels proud of the beer we brew.
We’re honored to be part of the fabric of this country. Anheuser-Busch employs more than 18,000 people and our independent distributors employ an additional 47,000 valued colleagues. We have thousands of partners, millions of fans and a proud history supporting our communities, military, first responders, sports fans and hard-working Americans everywhere.
We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.
My time serving this country taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect for one another. As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.
I care deeply about this country, this company, our brands and our partners. I spend much of my time traveling across America, listening to and learning from our customers, distributors and others.
Moving forward, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across our nation.
Brendan Whitworth
CEO, Anheuser-Busch
The reaction to the AB CEO’s statement didn’t seem to sit well with NBC News’ Ben Collins, who said Whitworth “caved to the mob”:
Bud Light caves to a mob that was shooting at and running over its product for giving a one-minute sponsored Instagram post to a trans person. pic.twitter.com/ZqWDGPM36z
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) April 14, 2023
Recommended
Oh wow. Maybe the media’s angry for different reasons.
“Pressuring companies with social media mobs is OUR job”
— Zachary Faria (@ZacharyFaria) April 14, 2023
Yeah, something like that.
Not fun, is it? https://t.co/w37yVQ0Thx
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 14, 2023
Ain’t no fun when the rabbit got the gun, as the saying goes.
i don’t see the cave
— NOT a traitor elizabeth & vaccinated (@portraitse) April 14, 2023
It's certainly not "we agree with Tucker Carlson" but it's closer to that than "we stand by our employees."
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) April 14, 2023
But it doesn’t sound like all the employees were on board:
News of the walkback surfaced Thursday when Rogan O’Handley, who publishes an online newsletter called DC Draino, tweeted that marketing for Bud Light had been “put on hold.” A week earlier, Mr. O’Handley asserted that sources at the company told him corporate executives were angry about the release of the Bud Light can with the influencer’s image.
He wrote: “It wasn’t posted on any [Anheuser-Busch/Bud Light] social medias [sic] & the leading theory is that a Leftist manager secretly did it on their own to push trans agenda. New PR statement expected. Possible lawsuit …”
What a cluster f**k for Anheiser Busch. They’ve actually probably managed to piss off both sides.
Caves, or puts out a press release that actually says/stands for nothing in the hopes of pissing off no one but probably pleases no one?
— Tal Kopan (@TalKopan) April 14, 2023
There’s no cave here, nor is there an apology or statement of course correction. It’s just a fact sheet of the company’s history and a small list of things the CEO cares about. https://t.co/JfsBqQkh51
— Vanessa (@Nessakins_) April 14, 2023
Fact check: TRUE.
A statement containing no actual content isn’t caving. Doing everything HRC tells you to under threat of an ESG score downgrade is caving https://t.co/LPqDAz9EeC
— Starless (@starless941) April 14, 2023
Yep, pretty much.
There was no mob.
What there was… Was consumers boycotting.
Unless you call every Left wing boycott a mob too? https://t.co/nOHHmZ5vdf
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) April 14, 2023
But it’s “D”ifferent when the Left does the backlashing, or something.
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