By James Conrad | Political Insider
Bud Light lost hundreds of millions of dollars last year after teaming up with the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a partnership back in April.
Now, Bud Light is desperately trying to backtrack, as the brand has just announced that it is partnering up with the conservative comedian Shane Gillis, who was dropped as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” after only five days due to footage emerging of him making what some felt were racist and homophobic jokes.
Bud Light Teams Up With Gillis
Gillis, 36, announced that he was teaming up with the brand in an Instagram post marked “paid partnership with Bud Light.”
“Excited to announce partnership with Bud Light #budlightpartner,” Gillis wrote.
“Welcome to the team @shanemgillis, excited to be a part of your 2024 tour,” Bud Light added in a separate post.
The Street described this partnership as being “somewhat shocking because Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) CEO Michel Doukeris said during his company’s second-quarter earnings call that he intended to avoid making political statements.”
“Our consumers across all sentiment groups have three points of feedback in common,” Doukeris reportedly said. “One, they want to enjoy their beer without a debate. Two, they want Bud Light to focus on beer. Three, they want Bud Light to concentrate on the platforms that all consumers love, such as NFL, Fields of Honor, and music.”
“After that statement was made, however, the company then immediately became the largest sponsor of UFC, the mixed martial arts group run by Dana White, a friend and supporter of Donald Trump who has done nothing to stop his fighters from going on anti-transgender rants,” the Street added.