Billy Busch, the heir of Anheuser-Busch, said in an interview that his ancestors would be “rolling over in their graves” over the company’s partnership with “transgender” influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Busch made the remarks in an interview with TMZ host Harvey Levin on Friday. According to Fox2Now, Busch has been on a publicity tour for his new book, Family Reigns: The Extraordinary Rise and Epic Fall of an American Dynasty. During the conversation, Levin asked Busch for his thoughts on Bud Light’s controversy with “transgender” influencer Mulvaney.
“I think my family, my ancestors, would be rolling over in their graves. They were very patriotic. They loved this country and what it stood for. They believed that transgender, gays, that sort of thing, was all a very personal issue. They loved this country because it is a free country and people are allowed to do what they want. But it was never meant to be on a beer can and never meant to be pushed into people’s faces,” Busch said in the interview. “So, they would have never marketed their brands that way.”
“They were incredible with what they came out with,” he continued. “The Clydesdales, the frogs, the lizards, all the different promotions they had, all the different advertising they had, and the last thing they would have done was to get as controversial as they did, as InBev has, with Dylan Mulvaney.”
Levin argued that the motivation behind Bud Light’s campaign with Mulvaney was “inclusiveness” and asked for Busch’s thoughts on the backlash Bud Light faced for partnering with Mulvaney.
“You know, I think people who drink beer, I think they’re your your common folk. I think they are the blue collar worker who goes and works hard every single day. The last thing they want to be drinking is a beer can with with that kind of message on it. I just don’t think that’s that’s what they’re looking for. They want their beer to be truly American, truly patriotic, as it always has been. Truly, America’s beer, which Bud Light was and probably isn’t any longer,” said Busch.
“What’s the message? I’m a little confused here,” Levin interjected. “Why is it not American?”
“I just don’t think the audience that drinks beer is into transgenders and that kind of advertising. I think people that drink beer are much more, again, straight, blue collar, I mean, I shouldn’t necessarily say straight-” Busch explained.
Levin interrupted again and said that gay bars serve Bud Light and that the company sponsors Pride events.
“I just think that for the majority of the drinkers out there, that to be advertising transgenderism on their beer is something that they be apart of,” Busch explained again, adding that “the majority who drink beer care about wholesome things, care about America, and believe that certain things in life should be kept private. Transgenderism is one of them.”
“Why?” Levin pressed, saying that he is gay, as is his colleague present in the interview.
“Should we keep that private?”
“You know, you don’t have to keep it private, but I don’t think you should advertise it on a beer can,” Busch answered. “Why do you think then, you guys, that people are turning away and boycotting Bud Light now?”
Levin and his colleague said it’s “prejudice.”
“Your sexual preferences are meant to stay private,” Busch said.
As Townhall covered, many beer distributors do not expect the majority of Bud Light’s customers to support the brand again.
“Consumers have made a choice,” an executive at a Texas-based beer distributor told the New York Post. “They have left [Bud Light] and that’s how it’s going to be. I don’t envision a big percentage of them coming back.”
Some retailers are reallocating space for other brands as a result, which Rebecca noted.