On Friday afternoon, the Anheuser-Busch CEO finally released a statement about the company and its values. Unfortunately for all involved, the statement was a mealy-mouthed collection of paragraphs about nothing in particular, a clear plea for red staters to start buying the beer again without actually backing off pushing subversive propaganda on the public.
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh ripped into the statement, saying, “Anheuser Busch has finally released a statement, and it’s just as clumsy and stupid as the marketing stunt that got them into this mess in the first place.”
Continuing, Walsh then said, “The statement won’t satisfy their conservative customers because there is no apology or acknowledgment of wrong. And it won’t satisfy the Left because it doesn’t affirm transgenderism and admits at least (without using the word) that the trans issue ‘“divides people.”’
He again hit the company for being idiotic, saying, “They had a few options in dealing with this PR crisis. Out of all the options, they chose the one with the biggest downside and no upside. Geniuses.”
Ending his Twitter tirade, he encouraged his followers to keep up the boycott, saying, “Anyway, the boycott is still on.”
In another tweet, Walsh argued the boycott was highly successful, saying, “The Bud Light boycott has been by far one the most successful conservative efforts to push back against corporate wokeism we’ve ever seen. By very wary of any conservative who is naysaying this. We’re actually making a dent and they’re complaining. Remember that.”
Joining Walsh in hammering the statement was a high-profile neo-reactionary, Auron MacIntyre, who said, “It’s not a cave, it’s not even an apology. It’s a non-statement to make sure red America will keep buying their beer. But anything short of worship is insufficient for the left.”
For reference, this is what Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said in the statement released yesterday afternoon:
As the CEO of a company founded in America’s heartland more than 165 years ago, I am responsible for ensuring every consumer feels proud of the beer we brew.
We’re honored to be part of the fabric of this country. Anheuser-Busch employs more than 18,000 people and our independent distributors employ an additional 47,000 valued colleagues. We have thousands of partners, millions of fans and a proud history supporting our communities, military, first responders, sports fans and hard-working Americans everywhere.
We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.
We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.
My time serving this country taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect for one another. As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.
I care deeply about this country, this company, our brands and our partners. spend much of my time traveling across America, listening to and learning from our customers, distributors and others.
Moving forward, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across our nation.
Just as predictable as the CEO doing the cowardly thing and trying to thread the needle was the left not being appeased by the waffling nature of the statement and instead treating it as a stab in the back.
Leading the charge on the front was NBC reporter Ben Collins, who said, “Bud Light caves to a mob that was shooting at and running over its product for giving a one-minute sponsored Instagram post to a trans person.”
Bud Light caves to a mob that was shooting at and running over its product for giving a one-minute sponsored Instagram post to a trans person. pic.twitter.com/ZqWDGPM36z
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) April 14, 2023
Matt Walsh image credit: By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America – Matt Walsh, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=123903793
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