Global Courant 2023-05-10 21:12:56
Beer drinkers visiting popular gay bars in Chicago may have a hard time finding popular brands like Bud Light, Stella Artois, and Michelob Ultra. That’s because at least five LGBTQ locations in the city are boycotting the Anheuser-Busch brewing company and its products following the company’s collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Mulvaney, best known for her TikTok series “Days of Girlhood,” teamed up with the company during the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament. The partnership, which consisted of a sponsored message on her Instagram account promoting Bud Light caused a right-wing backlash. The company’s response to that backlash led to allegations that it was abandoning 25-year-old Mulvaney, which in turn sparked a backlash from the LGBTQ community.
“We just removed their products,” Mark Robertson, the co-owner of the Chicago-based 2Bears Tavern Group, told NBC News on Tuesday. “Our position is that we expect the products we sell to align their values with our values or not trample on our customers’ rights. That’s where we believe Anheuser-Busch crossed the line.”
Mark Robertson, left, and Mike Sullivan are the owners of the Chicago-based 2Bears Tavern Group.Thanks to Mark Robertson and Mike Sullivan
Robertson, whose company owns four LGBTQ bars in Chicago, said the final straw came after Anheuser-Busch InBev’s quarterly earnings on Thursday, when, he said, the company’s leadership continued to try to “distance itself from this whole situation.” .
When asked by an analyst about the Mulvaney partnership and how a seemingly small partnership turned into “something much bigger than that,” Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michael Doukeris said in part, “We’re going to have to continue to clarify that this was one can, one influencer. , one post, and no campaign, and repeat this post for a while.”
Robertson said, “They’ve chosen to side with a group of people who are very hateful, who don’t value, you know, human rights or the life of the LGBTQ community.”
The right-wing reaction to the partnership between Mulvaney and Bud Light was swift, especially on social media. Numerous videos were shared online of consumers dumping their Bud Light products in garbage cans And sinks – and even violently destroying beer cans. A particularly shocking response came in a Instagram video posted by the singer-songwriter Kid Rock, who can be seen firing at Bud Light cases with what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle.
The SoFo Tap in Chicago.
Shortly after Thursday’s earnings call, Robertson announced on social media that “All 2Bears Tavern Group bars are discontinuing Anheuser-Busch InBev products as a result of the brewer’s actions and statements against transgender people.” The group owns four LGBTQ bars in Chicago: 2Bears Tavern, Jackhammer, Meeting House Tavern, and The SoFo Tap.
Following the announcement of 2Bears Tavern Group, Sidetrack, a popular LGBTQ venue that has been in town for over 40 years, announced that it will also discontinue sales of Anheuser-Busch products.
When asked about LGBTQ bars in Chicago that no longer sell the company’s products, an Anheuser-Busch InBev spokesperson said in an emailed statement, “A number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.”
Robertson said he doesn’t expect to sell Anheuser-Busch products in any of his bars again.
“This is not about economic prosperity; this is about human rights,” he said. “You can’t say on the one hand that we’re going to stick rainbows on our cans and that we’re going to keep sponsoring parades, while on the other hand we’re actually bending over what is a lot.” of hatred and venom.”
HSBC, the largest bank in Europe, shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev reduced from a “buy” to a “hold” as the company deals with its “Bud Light crisis,” CNBC reported Wednesday.
