(Headline USA) Anheuser-Busch heir Billy Busch blasted Bud Light last week for partnering with controversial transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, saying his ancestors would have “rolled over in their graves” if they had seen the campaign.
Busch argued his family’s company was never supposed to wade into divisive political or cultural issues.
“I think my family — my ancestors would have rolled over in their graves,” Busch told TMZ. “They believed that transgender, gays, that sort of thing was all a very personal issue. They loved this country because it is a free country and people are allowed to do what they want, but it was never meant to be on a beer can and never meant to be pushed in people’s faces.”
When asked whether he agrees that Bud Light should try to be more inclusive, Busch acknowledged that the beer’s customer base is sick of having leftist values shoved “pushed down their throat.”
“You know, I think people who drink beer, I think they’re your common folk. I think they are the blue-collar worker who goes and works hard every single day. The last thing they want pushed down their throat or to be drinking is a beer can with that kind of message on it,” he said.
The consumers drinking beer are not “into transgenders,” Busch continued. “People who drink beer care about wholesome things.”
Busch also lamented that Bud Light has lost its reputation as “America’s beer.”
“[Consumers] want their beer to be truly American, truly patriotic, as it always has been. Truly, America’s beer, which Bud Light was and probably isn’t any longer,” he said.
Anheuser-Busch’s revenue has tanked as a result of fall-out from the Mulvaney controversy, with its revenue dipping by 10% since the start of this year. Its sales in U.S. retailers have likewise declined by 14% compared to the previous year.
