Megyn Kelly joined the growing chorus of right-wing public figures calling on Bud Light parent Anheuser-Busch to apologize for their social media partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney — while throwing in her own bigoted, transphobic messaging to match.
Speaking with Michael Knowles of “The Daily Wire” on Monday’s episode of her eponymous podcast, “The Megyn Kelly Show,” Kelly reasoned that partnering with Mulvaney was a misstep for Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch because promoting a trans woman “celebrated by far-lefties all across the country,” the company put themselves — in their words — in the middle “of a discussion that divides people.”
“This person who’s on their beer can has made a mockery of womanhood and girlhood for literally the past year and has been celebrated by far-lefties all across the country,” Kelly said. “But to see what’s supposed to be a mainstream beer company do it was a bridge too far. That’s why they’re having the reaction they are.”
Elsewhere in the segment, Kelly intentionally misgendered Mulvaney and ridiculed the company’s “embrace of wokeness,” while Knowles added that “by sponsoring Dylan Mulvaney, Budweiser insulted women, but by issuing this statement, they’ve insulted Americans.”
The statement in question came Friday when Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth addressed for the first time the backlash his beer company is facing following its Bud Light ad campaign with Mulvaney earlier this month. The single-post campaign with the superstar trans influencer from April 1 saw Mulvaney showcasing a branded beer can with her face on it and announcing a March Madness contest. To this point, Mulvaney is best known for documenting each day of the first year of her gender transition on TikTok.
Seemingly backtracking the progressive partnership, Whitworth noted that his goal is only to bring people together.
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” he said in the statement, which he posted to Twitter. “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Kelly called the statement a “pathetic, rambling, empty-air sandwich of — I can’t even call it an apology — an attempt to dissuade people from hating his company and him. It was an utter fail.”
“Screw you and your stupid empty platitudes,” Kelly continued. “I read this, I’m like, ‘Oh, your little, market-tested buzzwords on what’s supposed to stir up our patriotism.’ Too late, sir! The buzzwords we we’re looking for: ‘I’m sorry. We screwed up.’”
Bud Light’s partnership with Mulvaney has been met with major blowback from the brand’s conservative and far-right clientele, with drinkers including Kid Rock decrying the company’s connection with Mulvaney and boycotting the brand altogether. Per a report from the New York Post last week, Anheuser-Busch saw its shares fall since Mulvaney’s sponsored post went viral.
