What is the outrage around Bud Light’s collaboration with a trans influencer

This caused a meltdown — in the few days since Mulvaney’s post about Bud Light, countless videos have been shared online showing consumers dumping their Bud Light products in trash bins, down sinks and even violently destroying cans of the beer.

One of the most viral responses to Mulvaney’s post came from singer Kid Rock, who appeared to be shooting crates of Bud Light with a semi-automatic rifle while shouting “F*** Bud Light and f*** Anheuser-Busch” and wearing a MAGA (Make America Great Again – Donald Trump’s signature slogan) hat.

Bud Light is owned by the world’s largest beer brewer, Annheuser-Busch.

Who is Dylan Mulvaney?

Dylan Mulvaney (born December 29, 1996) is an American actress and comedian known for detailing her gender transition in daily videos on the social media platform TikTok since early 2022.

She came out as a transwoman during the pandemic, and began documenting her gender transition in a daily series of videos published on TikTok titled “Days of Girlhood”. This series would make her go viral, garnering over 10 million followers on TikTok and over a billion views.

Speaking about “Days of Girlhood”, Mulvaney said, “Once I came out as a woman, I made this “day one of being a girl” comedic video. And it blew up.”

 

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A post shared by Dylan Mulvaney (@dylanmulvaney)

Her popularity was such that she, along with some other trans activists, met President Joe Biden to discuss recent anti-trans legislation passed in Republican-ruled states. Following this, she has consistently been a target of right-wing vitriol and abuse. Shortly after Mulvaney’s sit-down with Biden, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) tweeted out a video of Mulvaney and wrote, “Dylan Mulvaney, Joe Biden, and radical left-wing lunatics want to make this absurdity normal.”

Why are some people outraged about Mulvaney’s Bud Light partnership?

Over the years, while on one hand, there has been significant progress with regards to trans awareness, this has also prompted a powerful, often ugly, backlash.

Anti-trans rhetoric has come from all quarters, from famous novelists such as JK Rowling to Republican politicians and right-wing podcasters.

 

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Recently, many Republican-governed states have seen a spate of anti-trans legislation introduced. From making it harder for trans persons to access gender affirming care and access bathrooms, to banning drag shows, these laws have systematically targeted different facets of trans lives.

Dylan Mulvaney is an outspoken transwoman and extremely popular. This had made her a top target for anti-trans hate and consequently, also put her collaborators under the scanner.

How has Bud Light responded?

Following the controversy, Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch told Fox News that it “works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points.”

“From time to time, we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney,” the statement read. “This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”

Bud Light’s history of being a beer of choice for the queer community

While right-wingers have proclaimed “Go woke, go broke”, resolving to boycott Bud Light, the beer’s association with the queer community predates the term “woke” or 21st century anti-trans hysteria.

LGBTQ+ groups started to prefer Bud Light after a 1977 protest against Coors, a rival beer brand. Queer people boycotted Coors after learning of its discriminatory hiring practices, which included forcing applicants to undergo polygraph tests and asking them about their sexual orientation. Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, brokered a deal with owners of gay bars in San Francisco to not stock Coors, and soon, Bud Light became the choice queer beer.

Bud Light also released limited-edition, pronoun-inspired Pride cans in Canada in 2022. (CNW Group/Bud Light Canada)

Bud Light’s popularity with the queer community is not just a result of its rival’s discriminatory policies, it is also among the cheapest beers available. Hence, for a community which often lacks financial security and stability, it is an obvious choice.

This is also not the first time Bud Light has openly supported LGBTQ+ people. In 2013, Bud Light posted an ad on its Facebook page promoting marriage equality. The viral advert featured a pair of Bud Light cans aligned like an “equals sign”, mimicking the Human Rights Campaign’s symbol for marriage equality.