Bud Light sponsors Pride Parades despite boycott.

Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch Sponsor Multiple Pride Events Despite Backlash

Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch are sponsoring at least three different upcoming Pride events despite backlash over the partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, a social media influencer who identifies as transgender.

Bud Light is listed as a sponsor on the Cincinnati Pride Parade website. Planned Parenthood and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which medically transitions minors, are both also listed.

Meanwhile, in St. Louis, Missouri, where Anheuser-Busch is headquartered, the company is listed as the presenting sponsor of the St. Louis Pride Parade. A sponsorship packet explains that there are only four “presenting sponsor” slots available. The “Rainbow” sponsorship tier, located below the “presenting sponsor” tier, requires entities to pay $25,000.

Bud Light is also listed as a “Diamond Sponsor” of Stonewall Columbus, which organizes and hosts the annual Columbus, Ohio, Pride Parade. The “diamond” sponsorship tier requires companies to donate $20,000. The organization specifies that all sponsors must affirm Stonewall’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and agree to donate no less than 8 hours of volunteer time during a calendar year.

Anheuser-Busch was also listed as a premier sponsor for the San Francisco Pride Parade in 2022. The 2023 sponsors of the San Francisco Pride Parade have not yet been released.

Bud Light was listed as a sponsor of the Chicago Pride Parade on a page that has since been scrubbed. Bud Light boasted that “we have a clear role to play in bringing real change and creating an inclusive and equitable world where we cherish and celebrate one another.”

Corona and Corona Hard Seltzer, products of Anheuser-Busch, are listed as sponsors of the upcoming Los Angeles Pride Parade.

Cutwater Spirits, another Anheuser-Busch product, is listed as a sponsor of the 2023 Chicago Pride Fest, which will occur one week before the Chicago Pride Parade. The Pride Fest is a two-day festival that will include a “best of Chicago drag performance” and “a Youth Pride Space for teens.” Children as young as 12 will be allowed to attend the “youth pride space.”

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Bud Light sales have declined since its partnership with Mulvaney was revealed, and the company is even offering to buy back expiring cases of Bud Light from retailers. The controversy began when the company gave Mulvaney Bud Light cans with his face on them.

Anson Frericks, the former president of sales and distribution of Anheuser-Busch, offered his prediction for the company’s future in an interview with The Daily Wire, saying that he expects a “long, hot, dry summer for Anheuser-Busch.”

Conclusion

Despite the backlash, Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch continue to sponsor multiple Pride events. While some may criticize the company’s motives, their financial support helps to fund important LGBTQ+ organizations and events. It remains to be seen how the controversy will affect the company’s bottom line, but for now, they are standing by their commitment to diversity and inclusion.