Conservative country star and owner of Nashville’s “Redneck Riviera” bar, John Rich, has pulled Bud Light from his bar because of the Dylan Mulvaney partnership and the resulting conservative backlash against both Bud Light the brand and the parent company, Anheuser-Busch.
Speaking about his decision to pull it from his bar when speaking to Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Mr. Rich said:
“The customers decide. Customers are king. I own a bar in downtown Nashville. Our number one selling beer up until a few days ago was what? Bud Light. We got cases and cases and cases of it sitting back there. But in the past several days you’re hard-pressed to find anyone ordering one. So as a business owner, I go, hey if you aren’t ordering it, we got to put something else in here. At the end of the day, that’s capitalism. That’s how it works.”
Continuing. Mr. Rich told Tucker, “It’s their right to market it however they want. They’re making a bet [that] this is going to sell more product…What’s happening, Tucker, is people who have been loyal to brands for decades and decades are finding it hard to stay loyal to them, so they start hunting down other brands that they can support. There are tons of up-and-coming American brands out there that people are flooding to, kind of like mine.”
Rich had already suggested on Twitter that he would pull Bud Light from his Nashville bar, Redneck Riviera, after the Dylan Mulvaney partnership was announced, and then Travis Tritt followed suit. We reported on that on The American Tribune, saying:
Travis Tritt similarly tweeted, “I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same.” The musician also shared a list of other beers owned by Anheuser-Busch, calling for those brands to be included in a boycott. The country singer also warned about Jack Daniels, who began a transgender advertising campaign.
I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same.
— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 5, 2023
Despite the growing backlash, Anheuser-Busch has stood by the decision. For example, Anheuser-Busch, in its statement to Fox News Digital on the matter, said, “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics. From time to time we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”
Similarly, Bud Light’s vice president of marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, defended the decision in a podcast interview, saying, “I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand there will be no future for Bud Light.‘”
Here’s the video that set off the scandal:
Dylan Mulvaney is now getting paid $10000+ to be the face of brands including:
•BudLight
•Tampax
•Kate Spade
•Kitchen Aid
•Plaza Hotel
•Stella McCartney
•CrestMock Women= Get Rewarded #dylanmulvaney #trans #transgender pic.twitter.com/IQHb3qRnFZ
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 2, 2023
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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