BLOCKING THE NOISE

Anheuser-Busch Will Keep Supporting LGBTQ Community, Defiant CEO Says

In an interview on Wednesday, Brendan Whitworth didn’t rule out partnering with transgender influencers again.

Despite ongoing conservative backlash, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said his company will continue to support the LGBTQ community. The brewer was subjected to months of right-wing fury after Bud Light sent free beer to a transgender influencer. In an interview with CBS on Wednesday, Whitworth didn’t rule out doing something similar again. “Bud Light has supported LGBTQ since 1998, so that’s 25 years,” Whitworth said. “As we’ve said from the beginning, we’ll continue to support the communities and organizations that we’ve supported for decades.” Bud Light is just one of several brands targeted by far-right trolls for supporting the LGBTQ community, a phenomenon Whitworth touched on during his interview. “There’s a big social conversation taking place right now, and big brands are right in the middle of it and it’s not just our industry or Bud Light,” he said. “It’s happening in retail, happening in fast food.” Bud Light’s tumultuous past few months have seen the company’s stock take a dive. It also lost its spot as the top beer on the U.S. market to Modelo last month.