Bud Light using Dylan Mulvaney to boost their 'Corporate Equality Index' score: 'This is basically a racket'
Bud Light faces backlash over recruiting transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney as its new spokesperson
Dylan Mulvaney's Bud Light campaign is a 'racket,' sparks 'outrage': Rob Smith
STOPWOKE founder and podcast host Rob Smith discusses American corporations catering to the Human Rights Campaign's 'equality index' score.
As the parent company of Bud Light is seeing sales drop after stepping into a culture war, one conservative activist and commentator explained the marketing move may not have been intended to please customers.
"What stands is the fact that there is so much money that is being pushed into things like this because corporate America is so woke," STOPWOKE founder Rob Smith said on "Varney & Co." Tuesday. "And so what we have to do is, we have to cut the beast off by its head and sort of target all of those funds that are going to this."
Earlier this month, Bud Light revealed it would be partnering with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch celebrated Mulvaney's "365 Days of Girlhood," by sending Mulvaney custom-made cans featuring the influencer's face. Mulvaney said the cans were her "most prized possession" on Instagram with a post featuring "#budlightpartner."
One Missouri bar owner told FOX Business that as a result, Sales of Anheuser-Busch bottled products dropped 30% over the past week, while draught beer plummeted 50%.
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Smith claimed other companies that sponsor Mulvaney, like Tampax and Olay, are being influenced by "far-left" leadership and directors to boost their equality index scores.
After transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney partnered with Bud Light, STOPWOKE founder Rob Smith warned companies will cater to "woke" values to not "get dinged by the Human Rights Campaign" on "Varney & Co." Tuesday. (Fox News)
"If Bud Light does not spend a certain amount of money, they will get dinged by the Human Rights Campaign and they will have a lower corporate equality index," Smith explained. "I know for a fact that there is a top-five bank in this country that was shaken down to the tune of, the number that I was told was, about $75 million from the Human Rights Campaign because they were threatened with a low CEI score. So you have to understand that this is basically a racket."
Corporations are "forced" to adopt "woke" culture depending on their equality scores, Smith further argued while noting this may not be the type of representation women want. Former Facebook analyst Kara Frederick backed up Smith’s claim on Varney’s panel.
"I'm a woman, I have never once dressed up in Audrey Hepburn-style clothes and enjoyed my beer in the way that Dylan is pretending to. So it's absolutely ridiculous," Frederick said. "It's pandering to the far left, saying the younger generation represents this."
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Smith’s recently-launched organization STOPWOKE aims to ensure companies are evenly donating to both liberal and conservative groups.
"What a lot of people don't know with these PACs that these companies have, is that they're supposed to be donating to both conservative and liberal causes. But the money always seems to go in one direction," Smith said.
Mulvaney's posts caused backlash for Anheuser Busch, but the beer company defended the partnership.
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Bud Light distributors in rural areas ‘spooked’ by Dylan Mulvaney backlash
Beer Business Daily publisher Harry Schuhmacher told Fox News Digital that this is the "biggest controversy" he has seen.
"Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics. 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," an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson previously told Fox News.
Mulvaney has remained largely silent in addressing the criticism directly on their social media platforms. However, in a TikTok posted six days ago, the influencer said, "I haven’t been making as many videos. There’s been a lot going on."
FOX Business’ Kerry Byrne and Fox News’ Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
