Budweiser Clydesdale showings canceled amid Dylan Mulvaney controversy

Publish date: 2024-07-16

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A Budweiser distributor in Missouri is canceling events featuring the beer giant’s famous Clydesdale horses as Bud Light faces boycott threats over its marketing partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Wil Fischer Distributing reportedly decided to cancel all of its Clydesdale showings, including one slated for Springfield, Mo., last week, citing safety concerns for their employees, according to KOLR10-TV.

The Clydesdales — long featured in Bud Super Bowl commercials tromping through snowy landscapes and pulling wagonfuls of beer — have been used for decades to promote Anheuser-Busch beers.

“We aren’t going to comment on the issue … everything is still sensitive in social media,” an executive at Wil Fischer told The Post, asking not to be identified by name.

Observers say Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch is teaming up with Mulvaney in hopes of enticing a younger audience, which studies have shown is increasingly eschewing alcohol, to consume its beer.

But the brand appears to be alienating older drinkers, sparking fear among distributors who are said to be “spooked” by the Mulvaney partnership.

A Missouri beer distributor canceled an appearance by the Budweiser Clydesdales last week due to concerns for employee safety. Getty Images

“We reached out to a handful of A-B [Anheuser-Busch] distributors who were spooked, most particularly in the Heartland and the South, and even then in their more rural areas,” according to a Beer Business Daily report reviewed by Fox News.

Beer Business Daily said it assessed the situation “purely from a marketing and sales perspective,” noting that current data are very limited but “it appears likely Bud Light took a volume hit in some markets over the holiday weekend” since rural customers are also most likely to celebrate Easter.

“Whether it lasts or whether the publicity sparks incremental off-setting demand from over the ideological divide in metro areas, remains to be seen,” the publication wrote, adding that it will be difficult for Bud Light to “appeal to the sensitivities of a new generation of drinkers” without offending some longtime customers.

Wil Fischer Distributing reportedly decided to cancel all of the Clydesdale showings, citing safety concerns for their employees. Getty Images

“I’ve never seen the country so hotly divided, sadly,” the author of the report wrote.

The controversy was ignited last week when Mulvaney, a TikTok influencer with more than 10 million followers, shared a video featuring packs of Bud Light with her face printed on the cans.

Musicians Kid Rock and Travis Tritt led calls for a boycott of Bud Light.

Anheuser-Busch has come under fire for its marketing partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Instagram

Bud Light has stood behind its decision to enlist Mulvaney as a brand ambassador, noting the brand works with hundreds of influencers to connect with all of its customers.

“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,” a spokesperson for the company told Fox News.

“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.”

Mulvaney has more than 10 million followers on TikTok. Dylan Mulvaney/Instagram

Most recently Mulvaney appeared to respond to her critics by sharing a video of herself singing Stephen Sondheim’s “No One Is Alone” from “Into the Woods.”

In the clip, taken from an event she held at the Rainbow Room to celebrate her 365th day of womanhood, Mulvaney wore an Audrey Hepburn-style black and pink ball gown.

“Thank you all for making me feel supported, I am not alone️️ #trans,” she captioned the post.

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