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Trans community calls on Anheuser-Busch to reaffirm support if transgenders following Dylan Mulvaney controversy
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The Human Rights Campaign sent a letter to the company's head of human resources, calling their recent response insufficient and cowardly
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Bud Light reported a significant drop in sales following a nationwide boycott of its products
Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, is facing calls from the Human Rights Campaign to reaffirm its support of transgenders following the controversy surrounding Dylan Mulvaney's partnership with the beer company.
The calls come amid several weeks of right-wing pushback over Bud Light's recent partnership with the transgender influencer. Jay Brown, a senior vice president at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, sent a letter this week addressed to Anheuser-Busch's head of human resources.
Calling for Anheuser-Busch To Support the Trans Community
The document slammed the company's recent response to backlash amid the controversy, calling them insufficient and cowardly. The letter wrote that it was critical for Anheuser-Busch to publicly say it stands in solidarity with Mulvaney and the trans community, as per The Hill.
It claimed that when the company was faced with anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic criticism, it took actions that demonstrated its profound lack of fortitude in upholding values of diversity, equity, and inclusion to employees, customers, shareholders, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Brown argued that the situation not only provides indirect support to hate-filled rhetoric, it also exposes the company to long-term business impacts from employees and customers who are increasingly looking for steadfast commitment to LGBTQ+ corporate citizenship.
In the past month, conservative media personalities, as well as musicians and politicians, have waged a highly publicized campaign against Anheuser-Busch. It was rooted in Mulvaney becoming a partner of Bud Light and sharing a sponsored post to her Instagram account that promoted the beer company's March Madness contest.
The transgender influencer responded to the issue by uploading a video on Apr. 27, explaining the reason why she went offline for several weeks. She said that a lot of things were said about her, which she said were far from her truth, according to Yahoo News.
Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light Partnership Controversy
The social media personality reassured her supporters that she is "doing OK," but argued that she feels that she has deja vu over being called "too feminine and over the top." Mulvaney said that she was finding it difficult to understand other people's needs to dehumanize her and be cruel to another person.
The transgender influencer added that she was scared that the negative feedback over her partnership with Bud Light would affect her followers and lead them to believe the bad things being said about her.
Now, Anheuser-Busch is reportedly planning a major marketing push for Bud Light following a dip in sales caused by backlash from the beer company's partnership with Mulvaney. The editor of Beer Marketer's Insights, Benj Steinman, said that executives told distributors this week that the company will spend a hefty amount to alleviate the loss of sales.
The company lost an estimated $5 billion in market value following the partnership between Bud Light and Mulvaney that became viral. It also resulted in a nationwide boycott of the beer company's products, with bars and distributors across the United States reporting significant drops in Bud Light sales, said Fox Business.