Highlights: In the United States, the Bud Light brand boycotted for a partnership with a transgender influencer. On April 1, Dylan Mulvaney, a 26-year-old influencer and activist, posted a video on Instagram of herself holding a can of beer: a Bud Light. The influencer in question is a transgender woman and celebrates with her almost million followers her first year of femininity. Bud Light has also played for several years the card of patriotism and the American spirit in its advertisements.

Since the end of Donald Trump's term, twenty conservative US states have passed anti-transgender laws. This time, it's a partnership of the beer brand with a transgender influencer...

In the United States, the Bud Light brand boycotted for a partnership with a transgender influencer

A can of the Bud Light beer brand. © Flick/Tony Webster - Tony Webster

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Since the end of Donald Trump's term, twenty conservative US states have passed anti-transgender laws. This time, it was a partnership of the beer brand with a transgender influencer that drew the ire of conservatives.

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They gave me the greatest gift anyone could give me, they gave me a beer with my head printed on it. On April 1, Dylan Mulvaney, a 26-year-old influencer and activist, posted a video on Instagram of herself holding a can of beer: a Bud Light.

Nothing abnormal so far, but the influencer in question is a transgender woman and celebrates with her almost million followers her first year of femininity.

Scandal among conservatives among whom the brand is very popular. Especially since Bud Light has also played for several years the card of patriotism and the American spirit in its advertisements.

Cans riddled with bullets

On Twitter and TikTok, several people film themselves destroying blue beer cans, sometimes even with machine guns. Country stars are not left out. The very famous Kid Rock posts a video where he promises a "clear and concise" answer to the controversy. Cap with a Trumpist logo on his head, he turns, a semi-automatic rifle in his hands, and riddles Bud Light packs with bullets. For example, artist Riley Green replaced the name Bud Light with one of his competitors in one of his songs during a concert in mid-April.

► Read also: In the United States, transgender people face an anti-LGBT+ legislative offensive

Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and potential Republican presidential candidate, vowing that he will no longer drink Bud Light, himself called for a boycott of the brand on The Benny Show: "Honestly, they taunt us. If we do not respond to companies that do this, they will continue to do so.

New campaign

Bud Light hoped with this partnership to reach another audience. But according to the New York Post, this advertising campaign would have led to a fall in the stock market and a loss of $ 5 billion for the brand.

The boss, Brendan Whitworth, also issued an apology statement that did not appear to satisfy either side. "We never intended to enter into a debate that divides people," he said, without directly citing the controversy.

A fortnight later, beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev launched a completely different, patriotic advertising campaign. She called it "the common spirit" and it shows the American flag.

► Read also: Accused of "wokism", the confectioner M&M'S renounces his animated creatures

In the United States, the Bud Light brand boycotted for a partnership with a transgender influencer

In the United States, the Bud Light brand boycotted for a partnership with a transgender influencer

Cans riddled with bullets

New campaign

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