Bud Light today announced a show of support for LGBTQ+ community, as it fends off criticism for failing to speak up for transgender rights in the wake of its Dylan Mulvaney controversy.
The beleaguered beer brand is making a $200,000 donation to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, extending an existing partnership with the exclusive certifying body for LGBT-owned businesses. The money is for the organization's Communities of Color Initiative (CoCi), which is “designed to support the growth and success of minority LGBTQ+-owned businesses through certification, scholarships and business development,” according to the announcement.
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The donation was announced as Pride Month approaches. Bud Light is still feeling the effects of a boycott that followed an April 1 Instagram post from Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, that sparked a backlash from conservatives. While enduring the effects of the boycott, Bud Light had also come under pressure from LGBTQ+ groups to show more explicit support for transgender rights. Earlier this month, the Human Rights Campaign suspended Anheuser-Busch InBev’s perfect score on its Corporate Equality Index, a tool that scores companies on their policies for LGBTQ+ employees.
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