Earlier in the year, Bud Light partnered with transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, sparking outrage amongst its consumers and costing Anheuser-Busch a hefty amount of money.
Following the backlash, Brendan Whitworth, the chief executive of Anheuser-Busch, issued a statement saying:
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Country artists such as Brantley Gilbert and Riley Green expressed their distaste for the brand’s move, with Green changing the lyrics to arguably his best song, “I Wish Grandpas Never Died:”
Country Music Artist Riley Green Cancels Bud Light at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium Friday Night
Riley changed the lyrics from his hit song ‘I Wish Grandpas Never Died’ from Bud Light to Coors Light…and the crowd went wild!@RileyGreenMusic pic.twitter.com/VYUZySG0Zh— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) April 16, 2023
One of the biggest critics, however, was Kid Rock, who shot up cases of Bud Light with a rifle and posted the video clip to social media:
As time has faded, it appears the All Summer Long singer has softened his stance. He was even spotted holding one of the brands signature blue cans at a Colt Ford concert in Nashville back in August:
Hey @KidRock 👋🏼
— RealHousewifeOfMichigan (@RealHousewifeMi) August 18, 2023
This you at the Colt Ford concert last night?
Interesting drink choice 🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/Urvn3Hwenl
And as of last night, Kid Rock appeared on Fox News, telling Sean Hannity that it’s time to move on.
“I know people that work there and it’s not so cool to be wearing around that blue shirt anymore, going places. This is why they have a problem right now, it’s like, I can let the thing go.”
He then continued…
“I thought about this a lot. As a conservative, more importantly a patriot, I don’t want to be in the party of cancel culture and boycott that ultimately hurt working class people.”
“As a God-fearing man, as a Christian, I have to believe in forgiveness. They made a mistake, all right. What do you want, hold their head under water and drown them and kill people’s jobs? I don’t want to do that.”
“But I hope—at the same time, I don’t want to be their biggest cheerleader. I want them to show me something to get me back as a consumer, as a drinker.”
Kid Rock (whose real name is Robert Ritchie) also says he spoke to the CEO of Anheuser-Busch at a recent UFC fight – an event he attended with former president Trump and former Fox News anchor, Tucker Carlson:
“I told him that, and I go, ‘You signaled to a lot of people like myself, like-minded people,’ put the trans thing aside for a minute, right? But by sending that can to the trans kid, you kind of signaled to us, you support this lifestyle, and more importantly, men being in women’s sports or in my granddaughter’s locker room. Most of us draw a hard line right there.”
“Be yourself. You’re cool with me, I’m cool with you. That’s how most people are, but as soon as you bring our kids into this, that’s when you’re going to bring hatred into it.”
Kid Rock also announced earlier in the week that him and Jason Aldean will be hittin’ the road for a 7-stop headlining festival called Rock The Country. View those details here and watch the interview below.