Country-music star Brantley Gilbert is the latest artist to take aim at Bud Light for its partnership with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney — smashing a can of the beer at his weekend concert in Alabama.
The multiplatinum singer, who has given up drinking, was tossed a can of Bud Light while performing at Indian Mountain ATV Park in Piedmont, prompting him to shout, “F–k that!”
He smashed the can on the floor of the stage before a concertgoer tossed him a different brand of beer, which garnered an approving nod from the singer.
While his band riffed Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust,” Gilbert then tossed the beverage to one of his bandmates, who punched a hole in the can and shot-gunned the beer.
“You ain’t got a hair on your ass if you don’t shotgun that son of a b—h,” Gilbert said. Gilbert joins a handful of country musicians — including John Rich, Travis Tritt, Riley Green and Kid Rock, who used cases of Bud Light for target practice — in an apparent boycott of brewing company Anheuser-Busch.
The brew-haha arose after Bud Light sent Mulvaney, a popular TikTok star with more than 10 million followers, packs of beer with her face printed on the cans, sparking outrage from conservatives who claimed Bud Light was pushing “gender propaganda.”
Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, has defended its decision to work with Mulvaney.“Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points,” a rep for the company has said.
“From time to time, we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”
While Bud Light has stood behind its partnership with Mulvaney, the company seemingly responded to the backlash by also releasing a new all-American Budweiser ad featuring their beloved Clydesdale horse Friday.But the company’s attempt at appeasing its audience seemed to fall flat among many customers, with critics arguing it reeked of desperation to try to quell the controversy.
Anheuser-Busch’s top executive, Brendan Whitworth, broke his silence that same day, saying in a statement: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.
“We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer,” he said.
Earlier this month, Mulvaney appeared to respond to her critics by sharing a video of herself singing Stephen Sondheim’s “No One Is Alone” from his famous musical “Into the Woods.”In the clip, taken from an event she held at the Rainbow Room to celebrate her 365th day of womanhood, Mulvaney wore an Audrey Hepburn-style black and pink ball gown.
“Thank you all for making me feel supported, I am not alone️️ #trans,” she captioned the post.
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