Bud Light Fires Back at Dylan Mulvaney After Trans Influencer Claims They Abandoned Her During Partnership Backlash
June 30 2023, Published 11:30 a.m. ET
Anheuser-Busch fired back at Dylan Mulvaney this week after the transgender influencer accused Bud Light of abandoning her during their controversial partnership campaign, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The embattled beer company responded to Mulvaney’s allegations on Thursday night, just hours after the 26-year-old social media star posted a blistering video against Bud Light to Instagram.
According to a spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch, the beer company remains “committed” to the “partnerships” they have “forged” with “those in the LGBTQ+ community.”
The spokesperson also said that the “safety” of their partners remains the company’s “top priority” – although Anheuser-Busch did not mention Mulvaney by name.
"We remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community,” the company’s spokesperson told CBS News on Thursday night.
“The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority,” they continued. “As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best – brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers."
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Anheuser-Busch was responding to a video posted by Mulvaney hours earlier.
According to Mulvaney, Bud Light did not “stand by her” during the backlash both parties received for their controversial partnership.
"For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all," Mulvaney said in her video on Thursday. "It gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want."
"I'm bringing it up because what transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined," she continued, referring to the April 1 video that started the initial backlash.
"I should have made this video months ago, but I didn't and I was scared and I was scared of more backlash," Mulvaney added. "I patiently waited for things to get better, but surprise, they haven't really. And I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did."
"For months now, I've been scared to leave my house, I have been ridiculed in public, I've been followed. I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn't wish on anyone."
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Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth refused to say whether he regretted partnering with Mulvaney during an interview with CBS on Wednesday morning.
Whitworth also said that the beer company is working to reverse the $20 billion hit Anheuser-Busch suffered as a result of the partnership backlash and that the ongoing controversy’s impact on the company's employees is what "weighs most" on him.