ancestors would have 'rolled in their graves' over Dylan Mulvaney

Publish date: 2024-05-04

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An heir to the Anheuser-Busch company said that his ancestors would have “rolled in their graves” if they knew the beer company gave a case of brew to a transgender influencer, causing conservative drinkers to toss their light beers in the trash.

Billy Busch said during an interview with TMZ that the ad campaign with Dylan Mulvaney would have been an outrage to Adolphus Busch — who died in 1913.

“I think my family — my ancestors would have rolled over in their graves,” Busch told TMZ’s Harvey Levin.

“They believed that transgender, gays, that sort of thing was all a very personal issue. They loved this country because it is a free country and people are allowed to do what they want, but it was never meant to be on a beer can and never meant to be pushed in people’s faces.”

Busch was commenting on the PR fiasco that followed the Mulvaney stunt — which supposedly cost the company $400 million in revenue.

Initially, the company sent a case of Bud Light to the TikTok influencer with her face plastered on the cans.

The cans were meant to be an innocent marketing gimmick for Gen Z, but many beer drinkers lost their buzz pretty quickly.

Anheuser-Busch heir Billy Busch told TMZ that his ancestors would have been outraged over the Bud Light promotion involving transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Photo by Jim Spellman/Getty Images
Busch claimed that Adolphus Busch and others would be “rolling in their graves” over the fiasco. Photo by Jacob Hilsdorf/ullstein bild via Getty Images
Mulvaney was sent beer cans with her face on them for a promotional video.

“You know, I think people who drink beer, I think they’re your common folk. I think they are the blue-collar worker who goes and works hard every single day,” Busch said.

“The last thing they want pushed down their throat or to be drinking is a beer can with that kind of message on it. I just don’t think that’s what they’re looking for. They want their beer to be truly American, truly patriotic, as it always has been. Truly, America’s beer, which Bud Light was and probably isn’t any longer.”

The cans featuring Mulvaney’s face were a one-off gift to Mulvaney and were not for sale in stores.

The promotion with Mulvaney reportedly has cost Anheuser-Busch $400 million in revenue. Dylan Mulvaney/Instagram

Levin pressed the beer scion whether the backlash against Bud Light was rooted in prejudice.

“Absolutely it’s prejudice,” Levin said. “Look, I remember my dad telling me stories that there were bars in LA that used to have signs that said, ‘No dogs, no Jews.’ So there’s been a history of prejudice in the country. People get over certain things. It’s happened to Jews. It’s happened to black people. It’s happening to gay people, and it’s happening to transgender people. So to me, it is absolutely prejudice.”

A second-quarter report from Anheuser-Busch revealed the brewing company’s revenue in the US dipped by 10%, which is a loss of $400 million. And its sales in US retailers declined by 14% compared to the previous year. 

Busch was promoting his new book, “Family Reins: The Extraordinary Rise and Epic Fall of an American Dynasty” when he joined TMZ.

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