Bud Light Backlash As Drag Show Lists Beer As Sponsor

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Flagstaff Pride, which organizes the annual Pride celebration in the Arizona city, has recalled a poster that states one of its events is sponsored by Bud Light, saying it had made a mistake.

The original poster said the Pride in the Pines After Party was "presented by Bud Light." The event, which will take place on June 17, is open to all ages but children under 16 must be accompanied by a guardian.

In a statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Bud Light's maker, Anheuser-Busch, confirmed that the brand was not a sponsor of the after-party. "The event organizers have issued a corrected version of the poster."

The original poster had generated anger among conservatives, who have been calling for a boycott of the beer since it collaborated with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Flagstaff Pride
A Flagstaff Pride event. A poster issued by the organization said its Pride in the Pines After Party was sponsored by Bud Light. It later said this was not the case. Flagstaff Pride

In early April Bud Light sent Mulvaney a commemorative can to celebrate her first anniversary as a woman. Those cans are not available to the public, but conservatives accused the brand of alienating its traditional customers.

Bud Light's market share is particularly high in rural and conservative parts of the country. Its sales have fallen since the furor began. In the week ending May 27, Bud Light sales were down by 23.9 percent, according to Bumps Williams Consulting.

A right-wing commentator, Drew Hernandez, tweeted about the Flagstaff Pride event on Tuesday, writing: "They are promoting an ALL AGES DRAG SHOW AFTER PARTY 'presented' by disgraced BUD LIGHT."

"Even more reason to BOYCOTT bud light even more!!!" wrote one Twitter user in response.

"Budlight is done," another user posted. A third commented: "Guess they haven't lost enough money yet."

On Thursday Flagstaff Pride shared an updated poster for the after-party on Twitter, with the comment: "We put out an incorrect promotional poster which included Bud Light as a sponsor. Attached is the correct poster."

However, on Thursday morning, Bud Light was still listed among the sponsors of Flagstaff Pride on the organization's website. A poster for the Pride in the Pines Festival on the site said it was "presented by Bud Light."

Newsweek reached out to Flagstaff Pride for comment by phone on Thursday.

Update, 06/08/23 10:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a statement from Anheuser-Busch.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more