Bud Light Sales Slump Deepens as Fallout From Transgender Controversy Continues

Bud Light beer cans sit on a table in right field during the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md., on Sept. 19, 2019. Rob Carr/Getty Images

The latest industry figures show that Bud Light’s sales slump deepened into June as the fallout from the brand’s engagement with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney continues to strain the brand’s bottom line.

Sales volumes of Bud Light plunged by 24.4 percent in the week ended on June 3, according to Nielsen IQ sales data via Bump Williams Consulting.

The data also showed that Bud Light sales dove 24.6 percent for the four weeks that ended on June 3, extending a decline triggered when the brand rolled out a personalized beer can featuring the face of Mulvaney—a male who identifies as a female.

“This month I celebrated my day 365 of womanhood and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever—a can with my face on it,” Mulvaney said on April Fool’s Day.

Mulvaney, who has over 10 million followers on TikTok, posted a series of videos plugging Bud Light and showing off the personalized can.

Mulvaney’s engagement with Bud Light sparked outrage among many conservatives, some of whom accused the brand of promoting a transgender agenda and called for a boycott.

A six-pack of Bud Light sits on a shelf for sale at a convenience store in New York City on July 26, 2018. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Boycott Calls

A number of prominent conservative figures have called for a boycott over Mulvaney’s marketing engagement with Bud Light.

Singer Kid Rock used Bud Light cans as target practice to express his anger at the promotional campaign, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would be boycotting Bud Light.

Former President Donald Trump also weighed in on the controversy, suggesting boycotts can be an effective way to send a message to brands that critics say are pushing a leftist agenda.

“It’s time to beat the Radical Left at their own game,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social earlier in May. “Money does talk—Anheuser-Busch now understands that.”

The market value of Bud Light maker Anheuser-Busch Inbev has sunk from around $132.4 billion on April 1, the day Mulvaney trumpeted the personalized can on social media, to around $110.4 billion on June 13.

Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris told the Financial Times in an earlier interview that the boycott was driven by “misinformation and confusion” circulating on social media.

Doukeris insisted that Mulvaney’s involvement wasn’t part of an official Bud Light marketing campaign.

“It was one post. It was not an advertisement,” Doukeris told the outlet.

After Bud Light, another company has faced boycott calls for becoming associated with Mulvaney.

Mulvaney and Tony the Tiger

Kellogg’s has become the latest company to face conservative boycott calls after Mulvaney was photographed posing and linking arms with the brand’s iconic “Tony the Tiger” mascot at an awards ceremony.

Mulvaney shared a video on Instagram of the biological male interacting with and posing for photos with the Frosted Flakes mascot during the Tony Awards on June 11.

“Watch tonight for a wildly camp moment,” Mulvaney wrote in the caption, noting that his trip to the Tony Awards involved some type of partnership with Facebook parent Meta.

The post, which showed Tony the Tiger and gala dress-wearing Mulvaney clinging to the mascot’s arm, garnered considerable attention online.

Tony the Tiger and Dylan Mulvaney attend the 76th Annual Tony Awards at United Palace Theater in New York City on June 11, 2023. Dominik Bindl/Getty Images

Many of the reactions were critical and along the lines of the “go woke, go broke” rallying cry of those who oppose corporations pushing left-wing agendas.

“Folks, we have a new boycott to add to the list and I’m truly sorry to say it because I love this brand,” conservative political strategist Joey Mannarino said in a post on Twitter.

“The Frosted Flakes mascot, Tony the Tiger, has just posed for a photo with Dylan Mulvaney and even acted like a fan. That’s always been my line. You associate with Dylan Mulvaney and you’re done with me,” he continued.

“I'll be dumping out my Frosted Flakes,” he added.

Responding to a question about the boycott calls, a Kellogg spokesperson suggested it was happenstance that Mulvaney and Tony the Tiger were photographed together.

“Tony the Tiger was at the Tony Awards to celebrate Broadway’s biggest night,” spokesperson Kris Bahner told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

“Tony walked the red carpet at the event and took photos there and backstage with nominees and other guests, many of whom have been lifelong Frosted Flakes fans,” he added.