Beer drinkers angry at Bud Light for celebrating a trans woman have suggested switching to Coors Light as an act of protest, but they may have missed an important point.
Calls to boycott Bud Light started after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney revealed the beer brand had sent her a unique can of beer with her face on it. The company gifted her the personalized can to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the TikToker’s gender transition.
The can “was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public,” according to Anheuser-Busch, the company that owns Bud Light.
A company spokesperson told Newsweek it “works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics. From time to time we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney.”
Some social media users accused the company of being too “woke.” The furor follows backlash against chocolate manufacturer Hershey and whiskey brand Jack Daniels for partnering with members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The backlash is part of a wider discussion about transgender rights with many states in the U.S. proposing changes to the law that will see transgender rights stripped back, including access to healthcare.
One Twitter user pointed out to the people calling for a boycott of Bud Light and switching to Coors Light that the latter has also been a supporter of LGBTQ+ causes.
Lakota Man wrote: “MAGA: ‘I’m switching to Coors Light.’ Coors Light: ‘The f*** you are’,” alongside two photos, one of a special Pride edition of Bud Light and the other, an image of Coors Light’s history of LGBTQ+ support.
MAGA: “I’m switching to Coors Light.”
Coors Light: “The fuck you are.” pic.twitter.com/6BmOA5Ra61
— Lakota Man (@LakotaMan1) April 4, 2023
LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization GLAAD described Coors as “among the most progressive for its employee policies toward gays” and had been advertising in gay publications since the 1980s.
Coors has claimed it was the first brewer to introduce a non-discrimination policy on sexual orientation in 1975.
Trans campaigner jane fae—who does not capitalize her name—thinks the boycott “won’t do much.”
“I’ve always been in two minds about boycotts, they can achieve much such as in the days of apartheid in South Africa, but sometimes they can be little more than a form of virtue-signaling,” she told Newsweek.
“Although I’m amused to consider that some of these far-right signalers… and ironic in order to boycott to a pro-trans product they are switching to a pro-queer product.”