The top executive of Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch on Thursday disavowed the embattled company’s ties to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney as sales of the beer crater.
“We need to clarify the facts that this was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” Michel Doukeris told investors during an earnings call.
Doukeris went on to decry the “misinformation” spread on social media after Mulvaney last month posted a photo with a Bud Light while in a bathtub on TikTok to her more than 10 million followers.
The company faced immediate blowback from many conservative regions of the country. Calls for a Bud Light boycott have threatened its leading position as the country’s most popular brand.
During the week ended April 22 — the most recent industry data available — Bud Light sales plunged 21% vs. a year ago, accelerating from a 17% slide a week earlier and an initial weekly drop of 6% when the controversy kicked off during the first week of April, according to Nielsen IQ and Bump Williams Consulting.
Doukeris said the company was “providing direct financial support” to delivery drivers, wholesalers, and bar owners who were impacted by the backlash.
He then echoed the flat apology offered up by Bud Light CEO Brendan Whitworth on April 14.
“We will continue to learn, meet the moment in time, all be stronger and we work tirelessly to do what we do best: Bring people together over a beer and creating a future of more cheers,” Doukeris told Fox Business.
The Post has sought comment from Anheuser-Busch.
Last month, Mulvaney began posting images and videos of herself on social media pitching Bud Light — prompting anger and calls for a boycott.
The controversy also prompted Bud Light to place two marketing executives — Alissa Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing, and her boss, Daniel Blake — on leave.
The company has been trying to win back the hearts and minds of those who were upset by the Mulvaney campaign.
Over the weekend, Bud Light released a “countrified” YouTube ad showing young beer drinkers frolicking in the rain at a country music festival.
The ad, which premiered during the live airing of the NFL Draft last week on ABC and ESPN, shows people cracking open a can of beer as a hit song by the Zac Brown Band is heard playing in the background.
But critics accused the company of pandering in an attempt to regain consumer trust.
