Anheuser-Busch CEO Doesn’t Rule Out Bud Light Teaming Up With Dylan Mulvaney Again

Bud Light has lost a staggering $20 billion since teaming up with the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for an ad campaign back in March. Despite this, the CEO of Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light’s parent company, has refused to rule out teaming up with Mulvaney again.

Whitworth Dodges Mulvaney Questions

Daily Mail reported that Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth tried to dodge the question with an answer that appeared pre-rehearsed when he was asked by CBS Mornings if his company would collaborate with Mulvaney again.

After being asked about Mulvaney, Whitworth pivoted by talking about the “social conversation” that the ad campaign involving the transgender influencer caused. He then said that they “need to deeply understand the consumer” and “appreciate what they want” from the brand.

Host Tony Dokoupil refused to back down, however, challenging Whitworth again over whether or not the Mulvaney campaign was a mistake after Bud Light sales dropped a whopping 28.5 percent. Once again, Whitworth dodged the question.

“As we move forward we want to focus on what we do best, which is brewing great beer for everyone, listening to our consumers, being humble in listening to them,” he said. “Making sure that we do right by our employees, take care and support our partners, and ultimately make an impact in the communities that we serve.”

Whitworth went on to argue that Bud Light “doesn’t belong” in the “divisive conversation” around the Mulvaney campaign, adding that it has “moved away from beer.” He concluded by taking responsibility for the impact the campaign had on his employees, saying, “everything we do, I’m accountable for.”

Notice that at no point in that answer did he ever rule out teaming up with Mulvaney again.

Related: Bud Light Launches Most Desperate Effort Yet To Win You Back

Interview Backfires

This interview has already blown up in Whitworth’s face, as social media users are having a field day blasting him over it.

“Brendan Whitworth interview on CBS, interesting. Did Brendan not hear & understand the questions or was he just ignoring the questions?” one social media user commented. “Sounded like bogus word spaghetti to me. Too little, too late.”

“Bud Light your CEO doing a dismal job on CBS Morning. Brendan Whitworth trying to both sides his decisions,” another added. “Answer should’ve been we make a great product we want everyone to enjoy and we are inclusive of all and won’t tolerate hateful bigotry. Needs a new comms team.”

In the months since Bud Light teamed up with Mulvaney, conservatives have launched a campaign of the beer brand that has been highly effective. Bud Light was humiliated earlier this month when Modelo Especial surpassed it as the number one beer in America.

“Bud Light’s missteps felt like a betrayal to both its liberal and conservative customers, and that trust is going to take months, if not years, to rebuild,” Daniel Korschun, an associate professor of marketing at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, told The New York Times.

Whitworth Tries To Stay PC 

Whitworth has been working overtime over the past few weeks to try and distance his company from the controversy while also not condemning Mulvaney in any way. Last week, Whitworth issued a statement entitled “Anheuser-Busch Announces Support For Frontline Employees And Wholesaler Partners.”

“We recognize that over the last two months, the discussion surrounding our company and Bud Light has moved away from beer, and this has impacted our consumers, our business partners, and our employees,” he said, according to Fox News. “We are a beer company, and beer is for everyone.”

Later in the statement, Whitworth added, “to all our valued consumers, we hear you. Our summer advertising launches next week, and you can look forward to Bud Light reinforcing what you’ve always loved about our brand — that it’s easy to drink and easy to enjoy.”

“As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best — brewing great beer and earning our place in moments that matter to you,” he concluded.

Full Story: Bud Light Maker CEO Issues Desperate Message To Customers As Sales Plummet – ‘We Hear You’

Whitworth is clearly trying to be as politically correct as possible, which is frankly the last thing that he should be doing right now. If he really wants his customers back, Whitworth should admit what we all know to be true: that the Mulvaney campaign was a mistake, and that Bud Light never should have done it.

Until he does that, Whitworth can only expect to keep learning the hard way that the “go woke, go broke” mantra is very real indeed.