Kid Rock may have started the anti-Bud-Light campaign, but he certainly has not been the only star to make his feelings known.
Most stars have been more subtle than Rock and did not, as he did, choose to shoot up cases of the formerly best-selling beer in the world, but lots of statements have been made.
Country-music stars Travis Tritt and John Rich (of Big & Rich fame) have made clear that they won't support the Anheuser-Busch (BUD) -) brand anymore.
That's been a popular opinion for conservatives who took issue with the brand engaging the transgender social-media influencer Dylan Mulvaney for an online marketing campaign.
DON'T MISS: McDonald's menu adds a potentially dangerous item
Showing how strongly you oppose diversity and inclusion has become a sort of right-wing calling card and Anheuser-Busch has not been the only company affected. Target (TGT) -) also said in its recent earnings call that its revenue was hurt by boycotts tied to its sales of Pride Month merchandise.
Walt Disney has also faced its fair share of anti-woke fallout. The entertainment stalwart has been targeted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis -- although it's unclear whether those issues have actually caused the slight slowdown at Disney World.
In a broad sense, the world has become very polarized as even Chick-fil-A, a famously right-leaning company, faced boycotts (albeit mostly unsuccessful ones) when it posted an ad for a vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Now, the Bud Light saga has taken a new turn as Anheuser-Busch heir Billy Busch has offered to buy the Budweiser brand from its current owners.
Image source: Shutterstock
Busch offers to buy Budweiser
Speaking on the far-right media personality Tomi Lahren's podcast/YouTube show, Busch made his offer.
“If they don’t want that brand any longer, sell it back to the Busch family. Sell it to me. I’ll be the first in line to buy that brand back from you, and we’ll make that brand great again,” he said.
The Budweiser Brand is owned by Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD) -), which is based in Belgium. That has put the beer brand, which has always used a lot of American iconography in its ads, under the ownership of a foreign company. This does not appear to sit well with Busch.
He says the new owners have not run the company in the same way his family did.
“That culture is completely gone now,” Busch said. “They knew who their drinkers were," he added. “...We’ve always cared very, very much about the people in America. What made this company great was America, of course."
Busch also says the new owners are listening to the wrong people.
Busch blames Bud Light's boss
In addition to the Mulvaney fallout, Bud Light also faced a backlash after former Bud Light Vice President Alissa Heinerscheid appeared on the Make Yourself At Home podcast and made some comments that struck long-time fans of the brand the wrong way.
“We had this hangover, I mean Bud Light had been kind of a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach,” she said.
Those remarks were made before the Mulvaney issue broke publicly, and there was little backlash at the time. But after the Mulvaney campaign Heinerscheid's comments were used to illustrate another way the brand had lost touch with its customers.
Busch says the problem goes deeper than that.
“When you are a foreign company and you rely on these woke students that are coming out of these local colleges to do your advertising for you, you’re making a big mistake,” he said.
Receive full access to real-time market analysis along with stock, commodities, and options trading recommendations. Sign up for Real Money Pro now.
