SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (WTVO) — A Budweiser distributor in Missouri has canceled events featuring the Budweiser Clydesdale horses, citing safety concerns after the company partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The Clydesdales have been used to represent Budweiser beers for decades.
According to KOLR10, local distributor Wil Fischer Distributing decided to cancel all showings of the Springfield Clydesdales, out of fear for its employees’ safety.
Budweiser’s parent company Anheuser-Busch partnered with Mulvaney as a brand ambassador for a Bud Light campaign to market the beer to a younger audience
According to Fox News, Bud Light vice president Alissa Heinerscheid said she was working to transform the once blue-collar Bud Light brand, which she said was “fratty” and “out of touch.”
“I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand there will be no future for Bud Light,'” Heinerscheid said.
Mulvaney said that the beer company sent packs of Bud Light with the influencer’s face as a way to celebrate a full year of “girlhood.” Mulvaney posted a video on Instagram to “celebrate her 365th day of womanhood” to promote the campaign.
“Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points,” the company said.
“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.”
Bud Light received backlash for alienating its longtime customers, including country music artist Kid Rock, who posted a video to Twitter showing him shooting at cans of the beer.
“Let me say something to all of you and be as clear and concise as possible,” Rock said before firing rounds of ammunition into cans of Bud Light. Rock ended the video by saying “F*** Bud Light, F*** Anheuser-Busch, have a terrific day.”
According to Beer Business Daily, “purely from a marketing and sales perspective, it appears likely Bud Light took a volume hit in some markets over the [Easter] holiday weekend.”
“We reached out to a handful of A-B [Anheuser-Busch] distributors who were spooked, most particularly in the Heartland and the South, and even then in their more rural areas,” the publication wrote.
Bud Light’s partnership with Mulvaney is part of a recent trend of popular brands promoting transgender personalities in traditional women’s roles. According to CNN, companies like Pantene, Gillette, Citi, and Adidas have made headlines for hiring transgender spokespersons.
In March, chocolate company Hershey chose to market an image of a trans woman in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Critics say the brands are promoting a caricatured version of femininity.
Olympic medalist Caitlyn Jenner, a transgender woman, condemned Nike for partnering with Mulvaney to promote a line of sports bras, saying the brand was trying to “erase women” from sports. Other female sports stars have expressed similar concerns.
The companies have responded to the backlash by scolding critics, with Nike saying the response was not “in the spirit of a diverse and inclusive community.”
