Garth Brooks Doubles Down On Support Of Bud Light In Solidarity With The Trans Community

Social media can make or break a celebrity in the modern day, especially when it comes to perspectives on social issues. Making a statement regarding a controversial topic, such as abortion or trans issues, is a way to fast track a good deal of public support, or a good deal of public hate.

A Brand Partnership with Bud Light

Several months ago, the titular brand Bud Light was revealed to have been partnering with the transgender social media influencer, Dylan Mulvaney. Mulvaney has recently skyrocketed to fame on platforms such as Tiktok, where she has made a name for herself touting acceptance and equality for all.

Amid a wave of transphobic sentiment, Mulvaney has, unfortunately, come under fire on her various platforms. Many who oppose transgender rights see trans people existing in public as an affront to their sensibilities, and Mulvaney is no exception to that bigoted rule.

The Partnership Was Small

Companies are not people, though, and Mulvaney has secured several brand deals with companies, to mutually beneficial terms. The partnership that she completed with Bud Light was far from the first that she’d been engaged in, but the results of it were particularly loud.

The partnership was simple. Mulvaney posted a video on her various social media platforms, showing off a can of Bud Light that had been designed with her face on it. The cans were sent in celebration of Mulvaney’s first year of officially living authentically as a woman, and her audience was thrilled with the trans woman receiving the recognition.

Wide Backlash from the Public

Unfortunately, there was a fairly wide backlash among people who weren’t part of Dylan Mulvaney’s direct audience. Many conservative Americans saw the partnership as Bud Light pushing a liberal agenda, and the uproar was significant.

Across various social media platforms, different individuals and companies swore that they would no longer work with Bud Light due to their support of Mulvaney. There were even some celebrities that stepped in to make their voice known regarding the issue, with one particularly excessive and famous example.

A Video from Kid Rock

Kid Rock, a singer in the rock-country music space, made a statement regarding the issue by posting a video online where he shot up cases of Bud Light. He did it as a criticism of the company, and the video had a massive effect.

Other right-wing beer drinkers stopped buying Bud Light in protest, causing a massive dip in sales. The company lost its spot as the best-selling beer in the world due to the boycott, which saw the company lose approximately 26% of sales, and therefore revenue.

Others Jumping on the Bud Light Boycott

The boycott also attracted a significant number of country stars, who also hopped on the anti-trans bandwagon. John Rich, of Big and Rich fame, and Travis Tritt both moved quickly to ban the beer brand from their tour riders, and their Nashville Bars.

This is an unfortunately common pattern among social issues. All it takes is one big name making a statement – good or bad – and it allows others to feel safe to take a stand of their own. One notable example is J.K. Rowling, who has provided significant gas for the anti-trans agenda with her tweets and statements regarding the issue.

Support From Other Country Stars

Fortunately, the boycott on the part of country music stars was not universal. Jason Isbell and Zach Bryan both openly defended Bud Light in statements, and major country sensation Garth Brooks made the biggest statement of all.

Garth Brooks is a country singer and songwriter who has crossed genres, adding elements of pop and rock into his songs. This artistic choice has made him massively successful and popular with American audiences, with success on the country music single and album charts, multi-platinum recordings, and record-breaking live performances.

Garth Brooks’ Full Support of the Trans Community

Garth Brooks was one of the loudest voices to speak up in support of the trans community in response to the boycott of Bud Light by other music stars. He made clear that his soon-to-open bar, Friends in Low Places Bar and Honky Tonk – now open – would not only serve Bud Light, but it would also be a safe place for transgender customers.

“And yes, we’re going to serve every brand of beer. We just are. It’s not our decision to make. Our thing is this, if you [are let] into this house, love one another. If you’re [rude], there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway,” he said in a statement to Billboard Executive Editor Melinda Newman.

An Interview with Fox News

In a separate interview with Fox News, Brooks doubled down on his support of the brand. “How do you want to be treated? So, when you walk in here, hopefully you want to be surrounded with people who want to have fun…So that makes everybody get to have a good night.”

Brooks then went on to make clear that the only people who are not accepting of others are unwelcome in his bar. “There are two kinds of people in the world: the good people and the people that might have a hard time being that today. I totally believe in people. So, if you have another day where you want to try it, and it didn’t turn out so good, come on back. Let’s try love, it’s a good place.”

Bud Light Suffering

Despite the support of individuals like Garth Brooks, Bud Light sales have suffered. The Kid Rock video went far and wide, publicizing the issue and riling up a good number of far-right supporters who were willing to boycott Bud Light in order to criticize trans rights.

Despite the fact that Kid Rock posted his video criticizing Bud Light so publicly, there was no evidence that he was boycotting the brand. In fact, he was seen drinking the brand publicly, and ultimately decided to forgive Bud Light and their parent company after it signed to become UFC’s largest sponsor.

Other Right-Wing Figures Boycotting

Other big name right-wing figures who hopped on the boycott bandwagon have also dropped the boycott in the months since the video that Kid Rock posted blew up. Among these figures are people like former President Donald Trump.

In Trump fashion, he didn’t give up the public boycott of the brand without getting something in return. He only gave up his boycott after Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, paid up to sponsor the brand run by Trump supporter Dana White.

Bud Light’s Numbers Dropping

In spite of big figures stepping back from the public boycott of the brand, the damage has already been done. The public now associates Bud Light with transgender issues, and serving the brand at bars and restaurants is a decision that could be seen as a political issue.

“Our revenues declined by 9.5% this year with volumes down by 12.7%, primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light,” said Chief Executive Michel Doukeris, during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call.

Market Shares Improving

The CEO continued, “Our market shares continued to improve gradually from May through the most recent weeks in February. In 2023, our market share was 38.3%, making 2023 a challenging year for our business in the U.S.”

Despite these numbers, the CEO was quick to assure shareholders that he believed that the brand can recover from the bad press. “I think that we’re making progress. It’s not at the fast pace that we were expecting or that we’ve been working for. But, nevertheless, progress is in place,” he said conclusively.

America Has a Long Way to Go

The backlash against Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light in the wake of their partnership is an unfortunate sign of how far America has to go in regards to transgender rights and equality. A partnership between an influencer and a brand shouldn’t have had such backlash, but that’s not the reality.

Until such a time comes when transgender influences can take major brand deals without causing significant social waves, there is still work to do. Big names like Garth Brooks help in this goal, but ultimately the solution is exposure for closed-minded people, and a lot of it.