Dana White Defends UFC Partnership With Bud Light After Dylan Mulvaney Backlash
Dec. 12 2023, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
UFC boss Dana White defended the decision to continue partnering with Bud Light despite the far-right backlash against the brand over a brief partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Far-right figures and conservative politicians called on supporters to boycott Bud Light after the brand sent Mulvaney, a TikTok creator who is also transgender, a personalized beer can, which was featured in one Instagram post by the influencer.
White discussed the decision to continue partnering with Bud Light in an interview with ousted Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.
Carlson kicked off the interview by asking White about his decision to revive the partnership with Bud Light after working with Modelo.
The UFC boss said that at this point in his career and life, he was interested in working with sponsors that he's "aligned" with.
"If you consider yourself a patriot, you should be drinking gallons of Bud Light," White told Carlson. "Believe me when I tell you. Gallons of Bud Light."
Carlson interrupted with pure shock, "Wait wait wait... I should be boycotting Bud Light," to which White emphasized his position once more, "GALLONS of Bud Light."
"You should have Bud Light drums stacked in your garage," White enthusiastically added.
After he joked that "patriots" should be drinking the beer "right out of the keg," White took a more serious turn as he told Carlson, "They are way more aligned with you than most of these other beer companies are, that I guarantee you."
"Take it from somebody who's in the know, who does business with beer companies," White continued. "You are way more aligned with Bud Light than any other beer company."
White then said that he considered himself "a patriot" but noted he doesn't "go crazy over the whole patriot thing" as he doubled down on his support for Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch.
Carlson was among the far-right talking heads that ridiculed Mulvaney in the wake of backlash over the singular Bud Light Instagram post.
After Mulvaney was ridiculed by Republican lawmakers and conservative figureheads, the TikTok creator broke her silence and slammed the brand for allegedly leaving her to fend for herself amid backlash.
Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.
Mulvaney claimed Bud Light did not "stand by her" in a scathing video posted to social media.
At the same time, Bud Light sales took a hit as conservatives rallied to boycott the brand. Bud Light committed to increasing spending as the brand revamped marketing in an attempt to recover from controversy.