A Bud Light commercial recently commemorated the one-year anniversary of the self-confession of transgender icon, Dylan Muvaney, by featuring an ad with a picture of hers on a beer can, subsequently leading to a boycott. The beer company is now being forced to apologize-and it has done so rather equivocally.

Who is Dylan Mulvaney, for the 1% of the globe that does not know the screen star? She is not exactly one’s idea of a film doppelganger (a double), but Mulvaney is biologically a man who has been transitioning into a female since 2021, culminating in her womanhood celebration on April 1st, 2022. Her popularity, since then, has seen her blow the covers out of many transgender issues, besides starring in an array of films and TV shows, including Love Not Likes (2019). However, it was in April, 2023 that the spotlight shone firmly on her, when Bud Light decided to commemorate her first year as a transgender woman by bequeathing her a limited edition of Bud Light decorated with her picture.

A veiled message by the beer maker, Anheuser-Busch, through its chief, Brendan Whitworth, in which he insinuated as having not intended to have his beer attract boycotts across the conservative crowd, did the opposite of the expectations. It stoked controversy and threats of boycott. The news media, particularly Fox, essentially highlights the ‘nothing statement’ that Whitworth gave as one without a basis, and not apology enough. Indeed, the statement cleared up only the facet of how the company never wished to strike a debate that divides folks but one that musters them “over a beer.” 

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However, the statement mentioned neither the transgender artiste under the spotlight nor the boycott that has followed in the wake of the ad placement, and this has sparked further examples of liberal anger. It has touched several echelons of right-hand boycotters. Outside the newspapers, there are now musicians who like to label themselves conservatives. One of these is Kid Rock, who on this occasion did a set of hilarious histrionics by gunning down a number of Bud Light cans as a show of social disapproval.

The fact that later on Bud Light gave in and quietly retreated under the corporate covers, was highlighted by the return of the decades-old debate on the place of true alliance between brands and the queer community. On the one hand, Bud Light is a great example of a popular brand that is crumbling under its act of goodwill for its shares and sales have been plummeting on a steady scale since the start of the boycott. On  the other hand, the LGBT league is apparently fortifying its long-term creed on the need to go cautiously in the so-called ‘superficial allyship’ with brands such as these. 

The fire that the Mulvaney-Bud Light apology has sparked has also set alight the place of beer and slogan making. The original ad, featuring the transgender icon started with these spirited lines: “This story is bigger than beer” and ends with a reiteration that it is all about the American spirit.  Big heartfelt words, to be sure: going by the current statistics, they may have touched the 10-million strong Tik Tok followership of Dylan Mulvaney but did not please all. The beer community, particularly following the quiet withdrawal of Bud Light from the debate, is a sign that it did not please them, either-but in a rather late fashion.

Twitter, too, has been aflame with anti-Whitworth tweets, mostly directed at his staying on the fence. His equivocal message that did not directly ally him with Mulvaney or dismiss her did not go well with the right-hand Twitter crowd that wants a clear stand.  Some tweets were humorously circumspect and opined what could have happened if Bud Light had put a recent US ex-President on a can instead of Mulvaney!

Dylan Mulvaney has recently been in another similar tiff with product makers versus conservatives after she appeared on Nike brand wear. Similar talk, as the current, though at a lower scale, dogged her Nike spotlight steal. This was a sort of feminist tug of war with brands and has not resonated well with Twitter users who cite preferential portrayal of women by companies. In the fashion shoot in question, Mulvaney, aged 26, appears in tight leggings and a sportswear bra. The footage ends with a dance caper that the transgender star does in a yoga pose. The main debate concerning her Nike sponsorship was her having landed the spotlight rather than the sponsorship having gone to a more natural ‘biological woman.’

Tracing the start of the tiff right from the beginning to the dissatisfying apologetic end is a rather fairy tale narration: at the start, Mulvaney got an invitation to kick-start a ‘sweepstakes’ event for Bud Light, where people could post videos they had shot while enjoying a couple of beers with their pals for a chance to scoop a win. Thus, Bud Light sent the influential star a couple of its branded beers, one of which was branded with her image. She posted the cans, including the one featuring her picture on her social media, so as to commemorate the one-year anniversary of her trans journey into a woman. Several stations quickly followed on her act and Bud Light got into uncharted waters. 

Whitworth’s, apparently, was not an apology after all, according to The Daily Mail: “Whitworth, …did not directly…issue an apology.” The message of the ex-Marine high-ranking officer in the United States was brief and general. It talked about how there is the necessity to respect freedom and all the tenets that define the formation of the US, as a free country. However, this did not amuse critics who are still in the dark as to why the brand had to ally with Mulvaney in the first place, let alone apologize for her. 

Bud Light is a product brand of the beer maker, Anheuser-Busch family of products. Its beer is usually advertised as “easy to drink” and enjoy and is made of natural extracts from fruits. 

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