Kid Rock has taken aim, literally, at Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch after the beer company partnered with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney for an ad campaign. In a new video shared on Twitter, Rock opens fire with an assault rifle, obliterating a few 12-packs of Bud Light.
In the video shared on social media services, Rock appears with his back to the camera wearing a hoodie emblazoned with his annual Fish Fry event logo and a white “MAGA” backward baseball cap before turning around and declaring, “Grandpa’s feeling a little frisky today.”
“Let me say something to y’all and be as clear and concise as possible,” before he takes out his AR-style rifle and unloads quick-firing rounds into a case of Bud Light. He then turns to the camera, flips his middle finger and says, “Fuck Bud Light and Fuck Anheuser-Busch.”
The video posting comes after Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch partnered with influencer and trans rights activist Dylan Mulvaney, who over the weekend appeared on Instagram and in video promoting Bud Light. The TikTok star who has over 10 million followers posted a video advertising the company’s March Madness contest.
In an Instagram ad, Mulvaney appears dressed as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, cracking open a can and drinking from it before declaring, “This month I celebrated my 365 days of womanhood and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever — a can with my face on it.” She then shared video of her drinking a can of Bud Light in the bathtub.
Anheuser-Busch has stood behind the move, revealing that the cans with Mulvaney’s face on them were a personal gift to her and that she is one of hundreds of influencers the company partners with.
“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. 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,” an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told Fox News.
Given the current climate for LGBTQ+ individuals in the U.S., with Texas seriously curbing trans healthcare, and Florida proposing equally harmful legislation against transgender teenagers, this kind of rhetoric only adds to difficulty trans folk are facing.
READ MORE: Pop-Punk Band Called Out for Transphobic, Sexist Viral Video
Who Is Dylan Mulvaney?
Dylan Mulvaney is a 26-year-old social media influencer, best known for her TikTok series, Days of Girlhood. Over the past year, Mulvaney has detailed her gender transition from male to female in daily videos on the social media platform. She has over 10.8 million followers on the social media platform.
In a Teen Vogue feature highlighting LQBTQ+ trailblazers in 2022, TikTok said this of Mulvaney: “Dylan Mulvaney is a trans Broadway actress, comedian, and content creator. When the pandemic hit, she turned to TikTok to find creativity, and now highlights her transgender journey in her Days of Girlhood series. Dylan’s greatest hope is to bring trans and non-binary stories to the stage, screen and beyond.”
What Is Anheuser-Busch’s History With the LGBT Community?
While Kid Rock appears to be upset with Anheuser-Busch’s ad partnership with the transgender model-actress Dylan Mulvaney, the company’s support of the LGBT community actually dates back to the ’80s. According to SDLGBTN.com, the company has been a longtime sponsor of Pride events across the country and has been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for its support of LGBT employees within their company.
Anheuser-Busch also was a major sponsor of the Equality Act, and in 2017, Budweiser even released a limited-edition Pride can in support of the LGBT community. The company has reportedly donated over $13 million to local and national non-profit organizations dedicated to LGBTQ equality.
What Is Social Media Saying?
As you might expect, the Kid Rock posting from his account itself generated a lot of support for the musician’s stance.
One person posted a poll asking if people would boycott Bud Light or not over their use of a transgender model, with 73 percent of the respondents saying they would at press time. Others thanked Kid Rock for joining the boycott, while others proclaimed that he won the Internet.
See a sampling of the supportive responses below and keep scrolling to see others pointing out the absolute absurdity of the stunt.
There were also a few responders who pointed out the hilarity of Rock buying the beer he planned to shoot in protest.
There are also those who called out the absurdity and dangerous ramifications of Rock’s video as well.
To learn more about trans rights or how you can be an ally, visit National Center for Transgender Equality.
