LGBTQ+ Bar That Stopped Serving Bud Light Explains Why

The Stonewall Inn, the epicenter of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights since 1969, stopped serving Bud Light long before the recent boycott campaign by conservatives.

The Stonewall Inn's co-owners Stacy Lentz and Kurt Kelly spoke to Newsweek about their decision and why the LGBTQ+ community needs the support of major corporations more than ever.

"I think the reason we did that...was because they were out there waving the rainbow flag very vehemently and then turning around and contributing to anti-LGBTQ legislators, which can't happen," Lentz told Newsweek.

The famous bar in New York City's Greenwich Village became the country's first national LBGTQ+ monument and was the site of the famous Stonewall riots in 1969 which paved the way for the global movement for LGBTQ+ equality.

It has become the physical representation of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and has attracted A-List supporters from Kamala Harris, who dropped in for a visit during Pride month this year, to surprise performances by stars such as Madonna and Taylor Swift over the years.

But in 2021, long before conservatives decided to ditch the beloved beer brand for collaborating with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in March this year, The Stonewall Inn had a bone to pick with Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch.

It staged a "Keep Your Pride" campaign during Pride season in 2021 where it refused to serve the products of companies that claimed to be LGBTQ+ allies but also donated money to anti-LGBTQ+ legislators.

"Our communities are fed up with that, then looking at what they did and came forward with the campaign with Dylan Mulvaney, I thought it was a great campaign. I was like, 'Who cares? It's it's just a six-pack.'"

Lentz pointed out Mulvaney has more than 12 million followers on TikTok so Bud Light wanting to collaborate with her "makes sense," and issued a stern warning to other businesses.

"I'll tell you this, if you don't market to Gen Z, who is all on the side of equality. Then in 20 years or 30 years, your business will not exist because Gen Z is all about equality. So you're consumer is aging out and, [you better] get ready," she explained.

Lentz added the backlash to Bud Light's collaboration with Mulvaney "was ridiculous," and "the fact that they catered to it was alarming."

"But at the same time they at least made an effort," she said of the original partnership.

Pointing to other examples of corporations caving to conservative pressure such as Target and Starbucks, Lentz urged, "We need corporations now more than ever to stand up."

Kelly added that Stonewall started serving Bud Light and Stella Artois again because their boycott campaign did not quite get the support they had hoped for.

"When we did it back then, we got put down by a couple of bars. We got most of the community support, but it wasn't 100 percent, and it really didn't go anywhere," he said.

In response to the Stonewall Inn's campaign, Anheuser-Busch said in a statement at the time, "We support candidates for public office whose policy positions and objectives support investments in our communities, job creation, and industry growth.

"Together, with our brands, 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."

But Lentz and Kelly have found a new way to keep corporations accountable and to ensure their allyship is not performative.

Safe Spaces Certification

Through The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative Information (SIGBI), they created the Safe Spaces certification process. This allows businesses, stores, food and beverage establishments, airlines, entertainment and public venues to show support for LGBTQ+ patrons, employees, customers and neighbors by completing a rigorous checklist of requirements.

By completing the intensive certification process, businesses can not only show they are a safe place for LGBTQ+ people but are "authentic allies actually doing the work," according to Lentz.

Some examples of high-profile brands and events keen to get a Safe Space Certification include the recent New York Marathon and the US Open tennis grand slam championship.

"This is what makes us feel safe," Lentz explained of the certification.

"This is also to stop 'rainbow washing' and 'rainbow capitalism,' and it shows that an authentic brand can be supportive 365 days a year through a tested code of conduct, and policies and procedures to promote and protect LGBTQ and other marginalized employees."

The concept of 'rainbow washing and/or capitalism' refers to the idea that corporations are trying to capitalize on the spending power of LGBTQ+ people without delivering tangible allyship.

"The LGBTQ global population has the fourth highest spending power of GDP behind Russia, China and the U.S. So a lot of people are marketing to us because we have the money but at the same time, you have to authentically support us 365 days of the year," Lentz said.

"Don't cave to haters and make sure that as a business and as a brand...put your money where your mouth is."

The opt-in rate to Stonewall's Safe Spaces certification has been high according to Kelly and Lentz, which they believed is because brands wanted to not only be associated with The Stonewall Inn but "a lot of corporations want to show they're authentic," Lentz said, adding "and our community wants authentic partners, not just rainbow logos in June which are gone in July."