Brendan Whitworth, the former CIA operative now working for Anheuser-Busch InBev, recently appeared on CBS Mornings for an interview and made all the mistakes you might have expected him to make, as he defended his company’s pushing LGBTQ+ messages and refused to apologize for the Mulvaney ad that led to so much financial pain for Bud Light.
That came when Whitworth was asked, “Brendan Wentworth, we’re happy to say, joins us at the table live and in color for an exclusive interview. Number one, we’re glad to have you here many, many people in your position, Mr. Wentworth would be running for the hills at this point. Because since April, you all have faced a lot of incoming How and why did it? Did it go so off the rails? Because that certainly wasn’t your intention when you did one can to one person.”
Whitworth, in response, said that Bud Light didn’t mean to be divisive and there’s been a negative impact on the business, though he stopped short of saying that Bud Light shouldn’t have done the Mulvaney ad. He said, “It’s been a challenging few weeks. And I think the conversation surrounding Bud Light has moved away from beer, my conversation has become divisive. And Bud Light really doesn’t belong there. Bud Light should be all about bringing people together. And there’s an impact on the business. And I think that’s publicly covered on Bud Light, specifically.”
He then, when asked what was going on with the Mulvaney can, said, “Yeah, it was just to be clear, it was, it was a gift. And it was it was and it was one cam. But for us, you know, as we as we look to kind of the future, and we look to moving forward, we have to understand the impact that it’s had. And like I said, you know, that that impact has taken place. But it’s the impact on our employees, the impact on our consumers, and as well as the impact on our partners. And I think one thing that I’d love to make extremely clear, is that impact is my responsibility. And as the CEO, everything we do here, I’m accountable for.”
Whitworth was then asked if he’d do the Mulvaney thing again after seeing what has happened to Bud Light. In response, he said that Bud Light and all companies need to engage with what the consumer wants, which is to join in commenting on social issues. In his words: “there’s a big social conversation taking place right now. And big brands are right in the middle of it. And it’s not just our industry or Bud Light, it’s happening in retail, it’s happening in fast food. And so for us, what we need to understand is deeply understand and appreciate is the consumer, and what they want, what, what they care about, and what they expect from from big brands.”
Later, he also insisted that Bud Light has been supporting “LGBTQ issues” for two and a half decades now and that he’ll ensure it continues doing so, saying: “Bud Light has supported LGBTQ since 1998. So that’s 25 years. And as we’ve said, from the beginning, we’ll continue to support the communities and organizations that we’ve supported for decades. But as we move forward, you know, we want to focus on what we do best, which is brewing great beer for everyone, listening to our consumers, being humble and listening to them, making sure that we do right by our employees, take care and support our partners and ultimately make an impact in the communities that we serve.”
Watch him here:
In response to recent controversy, @AnheuserBusch CEO Brendan Whitworth tells CBS Mornings that his company will continue to support the LGBTQ community.
He did not directly answer the questions of whether the promotional campaign with a transgender influencer was a mistake. pic.twitter.com/19PXJQkoem
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 28, 2023
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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