Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch are sponsoring at least three different upcoming Pride events despite backlash over the partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a social media influencer who identifies as transgender.
(Article by Spencer Lindquist republished from
DailyWire.com)
Bud Light is
listed as a sponsor on the
Cincinnati Pride Parade website. Planned Parenthood and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which
medically transitions minors, are both also listed.
Meanwhile, in St. Louis, Missouri, where Anheuser-Busch is headquartered, the company is
listed as the
presenting sponsor of the St. Louis Pride Parade. A
sponsorship packet explains that there are only four “presenting sponsor” slots available. The “Rainbow” sponsorship tier, located below the “presenting sponsor” tier, requires entities to pay $25,000.
Bud Light is also listed as a “
Diamond Sponsor” of Stonewall Columbus, which
organizes and hosts the annual Columbus, Ohio, Pride Parade. The “diamond” sponsorship tier requires companies to donate $20,000, a
document from the organization specifies. The document also adds, “All Stonewall Columbus sponsors must affirm Stonewall’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies AND agree to donate no less than 8 hours of volunteer time during a calendar year.”
Anheuser-Busch was also listed as a
premier sponsor for the San Francisco Pride Parade in 2022. The 2023 sponsors of the San Francisco Pride Parade have not yet been released.
Bud Light was
listed as a sponsor of the Chicago Pride Parade on a page that has since been scrubbed. Bud Light boasted that “we have a clear role to play in bringing real change and creating an inclusive and equitable world where we cherish and celebrate one another.”
Corona and Corona Hard Seltzer, products of Anheuser-Busch, are
listed as sponsors of the upcoming Los Angeles Pride Parade.
Cutwater Spirits, another Anheuser-Busch product, is
listed as a sponsor of the 2023 Chicago Pride Fest, which will occur one week before the Chicago Pride Parade.
The Pride Fest is a two-day festival that will include a “best of Chicago drag performance” and “a Youth Pride Space for teens.” Children as young as 12 will be allowed to attend the “youth pride space.”
Bud Light sales have declined since its partnership with Mulvaney was revealed, and the company is even offering to
buy back expiring cases of Bud Light from retailers. The controversy began when the company gave Mulvaney Bud Light cans with his face on them.
Anson Frericks, the former president of sales and distribution of Anheuser-Busch, offered his
prediction for the company’s future in an interview with The Daily Wire, saying that he expects a “long, hot, dry summer for Anheuser-Busch.”
Anheuser-Busch did not respond to a request for comment.
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