Bud Light continues to draw ire from conservatives and certain musicians alike, as new video appears to show a country singer smashing a can on stage seemingly in protest of the beer brand's recent connection with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Mulvaney was sent a personalized Bud Light can to commemorate the first anniversary of the beginning of her transition, which she publicized on Instagram as part of her Day 365 Of Girlhood video series. It subsequently led to numerous critiques of the brand, Mulvaney and transgenderism.
The brand's parent company, Anheuser-Busch, has attempted to change the narrative after being silent on social media for nearly two weeks. On Friday, Budweiser—also under the Anheuser-Busch umbrella—was the focus of a newly released "Heart of America" ad featuring Clydesdales galloping across the United States. It has since been viewed over 51.5 million times.
Benny Johnson, a conservative Turning Point U.S.A. official, posted a video Sunday appearing to show a concert attendee throw country music musician Brantley Gilbert a Bud Light can while he is performing onstage.
The video, viewed nearly 500,000 times on Twitter, shows Gilbert looking at the can and showing it to the crowd before saying, "Yeah, f*** that" and throwing it down, causing it to explode.
He is then tossed a different beer can from off-stage, of which the label is indistinguishable, and gives it to his drummer who proceeds to "shotgun" it to cheers from the crowd.
Riley Green, another country singer, voluntarily threw himself into the controversy when he changed the lyrics of one of his hit songs, "I Wish Grandpas Never Died," during a show Friday at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Rather than sing the original lyrics "I wish coolers never run out of cold Bud Light," Green instead replaced the beer brand with Coors Light.
Other musicians, including Kid Rock and Travis Tritt, have expressed backlash against the brand—with Rock using a rifle to shoot numerous cases of Bud Light in a video he published on his social media channels.
Pictures of Rock drinking Bud Light alongside drag queens then resurfaced, as did newer images of him promoting Happy Dad seltzer—a brand that previously partnered with popular transgender figure Caitlyn Jenner.
Over the weekend Georgia GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted a doctored image of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham hoisting a Bud Light can.
It was done in response to Graham criticizing Greene's comments regarding 21-year-old National Guard member Jack Teixiera, who allegedly leaked classified intelligence documents. Greene defended the leak for "exposing the truth."
Prominent Republican Steve Bannon has called on conservatives to stay true to their morals following revelations that Anheuser-Busch is a large Republican donor that gave over $460,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) during the 2022 election cycle. The NRCC tweeted a joke about Mulvaney and Bud Light "tasting like water" before quickly deleting the post.
"Boycott ALL Anheuser-Busch Products...stop spending money on companies that hate you and what you stand for," Bannon wrote on the conservative-leaning social media platform, Gettr.
Donald Trump, Jr. also alluded to GOP fundraising efforts on Anheuser-Busch's behalf, questioning on his Triggered podcast whether the Mulvaney partnership was "a one-off colossal screw-up." He also seemed to quell calls for a boycott of the brand.
Responses to Trump Jr.'s comments were mixed, with one conservative opining, "Like I've been saying, the Trumps are the most subversive force on the right. The left could never undermine us so much."
Social media analytics tracker Social Blade said Bud Light's Twitter account has experienced a near-4,000 follower increase in the last 30 days, much to do with varied opinions about Mulvaney. Facebook and Instagram have experienced losses of about 3,500 "likes" and 3,500 followers, respectively.
Newsweek reached out to Brantley Gilbert and The National Center for Transgender Equality via email.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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