Anheuser-Busch
Howard Stern is speaking out following Kid Rock and Travis Tritt’s transphobic responses to trans activist Dylan Mulvaney teaming up with Anheuser-Busch to promote the brand’s Easy Carry Contest.
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“I thought there must be a piece of this story that I’m missing,” the host said during his SiriusXM radio show on Monday (April 10). “I’m not bothered by gay people or transsexual people. They don’t impact my life, they don’t hurt my life. I love when people are in love. You wanna be a woman? Be a woman. You wanna be a dude, be a dude. Be whatever you f—ing want. As long as you ain’t hurting anybody, I’m on your team.”
Stern’s thoughts come a week after Rock posted a video to his social media accounts wearing a white MAGA hat. “Grandpa’s feeling a bit frisky today,” he shared, adding that he wants to make his message as “clear and concise as possible.” He then shot a semi-automatic rifle at three cases of Bud Light, telling the camera, “F— Bud Light, and f— Anheuser-Busch.”
Tritt, meanwhile, shared a series of tweets announcing that he would no longer be working with Anheuser-Busch and removing all of the company’s products from his tour hospitality rider. “I know many other artists who are doing the same,” the singer claimed.
“I wish I could call Kid Rock and have him come on the show and just tell me ‘Why are you so upset about this? How is it hurtful?’ I don’t know why he got so upset,” Stern continued. “Kid Rock, I know him. He’s got a great life. He transitioned from some kid in Michigan to a rock superstar! I’m really dumbfounded by why someone would care so much that they would blow up a can of Bud Light and say, ‘F— Anheuser-Busch.’ I don’t get it.”
Stern added that Rock himself is “flamboyant in his own way,” often wearing “a feather boa, maybe a mink coat” to his show when he would join as a guest. “I feel Kid Rock, his songs are all about living life the way you want, ‘I’m doing my thing man and f— you if you’re not with me,” he continued, then turning his thoughts to Tritt. “Travis Tritt’s statement was, ‘Other artists who are deleting Anheuser-Busch products from their hospitality rider might not say so in public for fear of being ridiculed and canceled. I have no such fear.’ I would like to interview the guy. I’m coming from a place of, ‘Why you care so much?’”
In a statement received by Billboard since the controversy, a Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said, “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics. 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.”
Country singer Travis Tritt is removing the King of Beers from his own royal retinue. On Wednesday night (April 5), Tritt released a series of tweets announcing that he would no longer be working with Anheuser-Busch, the company that produces Budweiser and Bud Light, among other beers.
“I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider,” the singer wrote, referring to the list of requests — including food and drink — an artist will submit to a live venue they’re scheduled to perform at. “I know many other artists who are doing the same.”
The announcement came after significant online backlash against the brand for partnering with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney in a March Madness campaign. One of the most vocal protestors of the announcement was Kid Rock, who posted a video of himself opening fire on three cases of Bud Light with an assault rifle, declaring, “f–k Bud Light and f–k Anheuser-Busch.”
When some commenters began asking which other stars Tritt knew would be removing Anheuser-Busch products from their tour riders, the “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” singer chose not to name names. “Other artists who are deleting Anheuser-Busch products from their hospitality rider might not say so in public for fear of being ridiculed and cancelled,” he wrote. “I have no such fear.”
The singer also added that he had worked directly with the beer manufacturer in the past, but had no plans to do so again. “In full disclosure, I was on a tour sponsored by Budweiser in the 90’s. That was when Anheuser-Busch was American owned,” he wrote. “A great American company that later sold out to the Europeans and became unrecognizable to the American consumer. Such a shame.”
While Tritt never directly referred to Mulvaney or Anheuser-Busch’s partnership with the TikTok star, the “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)” singer did post an advertisement from Jack Daniel’s featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race stars BeBe Zahara Benet, Trinity Taylor and Manila Luzon, telling his followers that they “should take note.”
In a statement to Billboard, Jack Daniel’s stood by its Drag Queen Summer Glamp campaign, as well as its ongoing support for the queer and trans communities. “Jack Daniel’s is made with everyone in mind, including the LGBTQ+ community,” a spokesperson said. “As a longtime champion of the LGBTQ+ community, Jack Daniel’s celebrates individuality and living life boldly on your own terms.”
Anheuser-Busch has not yet responded to a request for comment regarding Tritt’s tweets, but in a previous statement shared with Billboard, the brand stood firm in its stance. “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics,” a spokesperson said.
The whiskey brand is not the only one to fire back at the online outrage. Country star Jason Isbell openly mocked Kid Rock for his violent response to the Bud Light advertisement, encouraging other beer brands to follow suit. “This is finally how we get him,” Isbell said. “Leave no bigoted beers to drink.”
Billboard has reached out to Tritt comment. See his tweets below:
I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same.— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 5, 2023
Other artists who are deleting Anheuser-Busch products from their hospitality rider might not say so in public for fear of being ridiculed and cancelled. I have no such fear. https://t.co/YgjO9P03tR— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 6, 2023
In full disclosure, I was on a tour sponsored by Budweiser in the 90’s. That was when Anheuser-Busch was American owned. A great American company that later sold out to the Europeans and became unrecognizable to the American consumer. Such a shame.— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 6, 2023
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Dylan Mulvaney was in the world minding her business and celebrating an epic moment with Bud Light after the beer brand commemorated her 365 days of womanhood via her face on a can of the brew. Major league MAGA loser and former struggle rapper Kid Rock made a corny and spineless threat towards Mulvaney and Bud Light after shooting up a case of the beer with a semiautomatic rifle.
Before we get into the fake tough guy antics of Kid Rock, let’s center Dylan Mulvaney properly. Mulvaney is a TikTok star with millions of followers and rose to fame by way of her “365 Days To Girlhood” series on the social media network to the tune of over 10 million followers.
Taking notice of this, the great minds at Anheuser-Busch decided to gift Mulvaney some cans with her face on them, and she couldn’t have been happier as evidenced by the video below.
The backlash Mulvaney is enduring at the moment has been relentless, but something she’s certainly used to dealing with since everyone doesn’t know how to stay in their respective lanes like adults. Kid Rock joined the Goof Troop himself by uploading a video of him using some high-powered rifle to shoot up a case of brews and giving the finger to Bud Light and its parent company in the process.
Kid Rock looks like a gigantic fool by sharing this video and right on cue, the MAGA asshats who love this kind of empty rhetoric toward the LGBTQ community are supporting him. That said, plenty of people on Twitter are letting Kid Rock know that he has bigger things to worry about than Dylan Mulvaney living her life on her terms.
Check out the comments below.
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Photo: Mike Ehrmann / Getty
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