LGBT groups on the political left are pressuring Anheuser-Busch, maker of Bud Light, to support transgender rights activist Dylan Mulvaney.
The Hill reports that the Human Rights Campaign sent a letter of protest to Anheuser-Busch last week in response to the company’s sponsored marketing contract with Mulvaney.
According to our informant, “Right now, it is very important for Anheuser-Busch to stand with Dylan and the trans community.” By not defending its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion with its workers, customers, shareholders, and the LGBTQ+ community, Anheuser-Busch has displayed a surprising lack of fortitude in the face of anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic attacks.
The letter warns that if Anheuser-Busch does not make a commitment to LGBTQ+ corporate citizenship, which is increasingly sought after by both workers and consumers, the firm might suffer long-term financial implications.
Anheuser-Busch’s “long-standing 100 percent Corporate Equality Index score,” as the news piece puts it, would plummet if the question were answered in the negative.
The Human Rights Campaign wrote to the corporation asking for a statement “reaffirming its full support for its transgender customers, shareholders, and employees.”
Company officials apparently have been quite clear that they have no desire to meet with the group.
Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, issued a statement on April 14 that completely disregarded the company’s transgender employees and consumers.
A quote from Whitworth in the statement reads, “We never meant to be a part of a discussion that makes people angry.” A common saying in our field goes, “Our job is to get people to talk to each other over a beer.”
According to data gathered by BeerBoard, a software company that serves the alcoholic beverage industry, sales of Bud Light across the United States have dropped.
Two of the company’s highest-ranking officials have been put on extended leave as a result. Alissa Heinerscheid and Daniel Blake, the marketing directors for Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch’s main brands, respectively, are on vacation.