If you've even glanced at the internet over the last few weeks, you've probably seen videos of people shooting at or bulldozing unopened cans and bottles of Bud Lite beer. The classic libation isn't part of a hot new TikTok trend--it's the target of a conservative backlash.
The outrage, whether real or manufactured, comes over a single can of Bud Light sent to transgender Tik-Tok star Dylan Mulvaney on April 1st to commemorate the one-year marker since she’d come out, documenting her experiences transitioning in her "Days of Girlhood" series.
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The backlash has mostly consisted of "anti-woke" posts on social media showing angry consumers destroying Bud Light products they had presumably purchased. But as news reports opposing the single-can collaboration grew, reactions became as serious as a bomb threat sent to Budweiser's Van Nuys, California factory.
In recent years, right wing groups have targeted the trans community as a way to boost fundraising and re-energize their base following the failure to block gay marriage, the New York Times noted.
In an attempt to tamp down the outcry, Anheuser-Busch (BUD), the maker of Budweiser products, released a statement on Friday, April 14th saying that the company “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.”
The company’s CEO Brendan Whitworth mentioned the importance of the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work, and respect for one another.” The statement reads as neither an apology for the collaboration nor a commitment to stand with the LGBTQ community. The leader does, however, say that he will “continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across our nation.”
