Drinking a can of Bud Light is akin to giving “a middle finger to women” due to the brand becoming “uncool” after its disastrous marketing partnership with controversial transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, according to Megyn Kelly.
“They have no way out [of the boycott],” Kelly said during Wednesday’s episode of SiriusXM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show.”
“They’ve made it so that it is uncool and a middle finger to women to have a Bud Light,” Kelly said, citing recent figures showing a steady decline in sales of the beer.
“People are openly shaming the brand,” she said.
“People look at you funny [if you order the beer],” Kelly added.
“I don’t know how you recover from that.”
Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev has lost a whopping $27 billion in market value in the wake of its star-crossed partnership with Mulvaney — most recently slammed by a 5% stock drop this week.
AB InBev’s market capitalization fell to $107.44 billion through the end of May — down more than $27 billion from the $134.55 billion value the company had on March 31, the day before Mulvaney’s partnership went live, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group.
May was the third-worst month on record for the company’s shares.
The stock is headed towards an official bear market — a 20% drop — as the boycott continues.
Shares of AB InBev stooped to $53.81 as of Thursday’s closing bell.
The Bud Light marketing executive associated with the Mulvaney partnership is “not supposed to talk” about the ordeal, according to a pal she was seen walking with in New York City.
Alissa Heinerscheid, 39, refused to speak when approached by the Daily Mail for comment on the controversial marketing deal with the transgender influencer — before her friend cut in to explain that she couldn’t discuss the topic.
“She’s not supposed to talk about it, she can’t,” the friend said before they moved on.
In an attempt to curry favor with buyers put off by the brand’s attempt to distance itself from Mulvaney, Bud Light said it would donate $200,000 to an LGBTQ+ nonprofit.
Bud Light said this week it will extend its partnership with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) “to continue supporting economic opportunities and advancements for LGBTQ+ Americans and business owners across the country,” according to a press release.
Additional Reporting by Shannon Thaler and Alex Oliveira
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
