LGBTQ+ group slams Bud Light for not defending transgender rights

As it continues to fend off attacks from conservatives for partnering with the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Bud Light is now feeling the heat from progressives. LGBTQ+ advocacy group The Human Rights Campaign is calling on Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch InBev to express more explicit support for Mulvaney and the trans community. The group sent a letter last week to Lindsay King, the brewer's chief people officer, denouncing the company’s response to what it sees as a hate-based opposition. “In this moment, it is absolutely critical for Anheuser-Busch to stand in solidarity with Dylan and the trans community,” Jay Brown, senior VP at the Human Rights Campaign wrote. “However, when faced with anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic criticism, Anheuser-Busch’s actions demonstrate a profound lack of fortitude in upholding its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion to employees, customers, shareholders and the LGBTQ+ community.” The letter calls for the company to issue a statement backing Mulvaney; to “re-engage” with LGBTQ+ employees; and conduct transgender incision training for executives. Ad Age Breakout Brand Leaders New award honors the people behind emerging brands Enter here The letter was first reported by The Hill, which also noted that HRC is “preparing to lower Anheuser-Busch’s long-standing 100 percent Corporate Equality Index score, a national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits relevant to LGBTQ employees.” The warning comes at an inopportune time for the brewer: Pride Month, a time when brands often tout their efforts to support the LGBTQ+ community, begins on June 1. A Bud Light spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. Recent news: Dylan Mulvaney breaks silence on Bud Light uproar 'Dramatic' share shift Sales of Bud Light, the nation’s best-selling beer, were down 26.1% in volume for the week ended April 22, according to Bump Williams Consulting data reported by Beer Business Daily. That represents a deeper slide than the prior week, when Bud Light volume slipped by 21.1%. Bud Light’s market share was down 8.3 points for the week, while rivals Coors Light gained 4.1 points and Miller Lite improved by 3.7. “We’ve never seen such a dramatic shift in national share in such a short period of time,” Beer Business Daily remarked. What's worse for the brewer is that the negative trend appears to be spilling into other AB InBev brands: Michelob Ultra dropped 8% for the week ending April 22, while Busch Light fell by 8% and Budweiser dropped by 13%, according to Beer Marketer's Insights. Bud Light and AB InBev first got caught in the middle of the culture wars in early April after an Instagram post by Mulvaney showed off a custom Bud Light can with her face on it. The post drew vitriolic opposition from right-wing figures finding trans rights symbolic of a political agenda they oppose; voices on the left called out the company for failing to stand behind the post. And Bud Light distributors were frustrated over what they saw as a marketing blunder. The deepening sales decline indicates the brand’s first public response to the controversy—a statement from AB InBev U.S. CEO Brendan Whitworth, issued April 14—was inadequate. Whitworth didn’t mention Bud Light or Mulvaney by name but rather focused on the brewer’s place in society, and invoked patriotism. “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” Whitworth wrote. “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.” More pressure The brewer in the meantime has continued to feel pressure from the right. The American Accountability Foundation, a right-wing government oversight and research organization, is urging Congressional aides to reject lobbying from the company. “If Bud Light wants to regain the trust of conservative customers, they should apologize for insulting their values by embracing the woke left’s radical gender agenda instead of wasting their money on lobbyists,” the group said in a statement shared with Ad Age. “Bud Light sided with the left against the average American and no amount of D.C. lobbyists in fancy suits will make them forget that.” According to Fox Business, the brewer is working with Origin Advocacy, a strategic lobbying group, to mend its relationship with conservatives. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

LGBTQ+ group slams Bud Light for not defending transgender rights

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