News anchor Megyn Kelly responded last night after being branded “transphobic” for calling on the CEO of Anheuser-Busch to apologize for Bud Light’s relationship with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which sparked a backlash from conservatives.
In angry comments on Sirius XM’s The Megyn Kelly Show, the host accused Mulvaney of being “a mockery of femininity and girlhood” and blasted the Bud Light maker, saying, “Fuck you and your stupid empty nonsense.”
By promoting a trans woman who is “celebrated by far-leftists across the country,” Kelly said Anheuser-Busch was — in her own words — putting herself at the center of a “discussion that divides people.”
Kelly faced backlash over her comments, with critics saying she intentionally offended Mulvaney and found her to be transphobic.
But in a tweet on Tuesday, the podcaster hit back, telling her 2.7 million followers on the platform that she is “speaking the truth.”
News host Megyn Kelly (pictured) responded last night after being called “transphobic” for calling on the CEO of Anheuser-Busch to apologize for Bud Light’s relationship with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which sparked a backlash from conservatives.
In a tweet on Tuesday, the podcast host hit back that her comments were transphobic, telling her 2.7 million followers on the platform that she’s “speaking the truth.”
By promoting Dylan Mulvaney (pictured in her Bud Light promotional video) – a trans woman ‘celebrated by far-leftists across the country’ – Kelly said Anheuser-Busch has – in their own words – put herself in the middle of a ‘swearing’ discussion the people
She wrote: “Call me by whatever names you want. I speak the truth. Neither I nor the millions of women (and men) who believe in biology/reality/fairness will not be deterred by your attempts to marginalize us with words like ‘transphobic.'”
The former Fox News host’s tweet has since gone viral, garnering more than 5.5 million views and nearly 50,000 “likes.”
Her letter was a direct response to an article in The Wrap, which was itself quoting her earlier comments during a conversation with Michael Knowles of The Daily Wire as they joined a growing number of conservative Americans who called on Anheuser-Busch to apologize for the partnership.
The pair argued that the statement on Friday from Brendan Whitworth – the chief executive of the brewing giant – was not enough as he did not directly apologize for the campaign.
“This beer-drinker can poke fun at femininity and girlhood over the past year, and far-leftists across the country have celebrated it,” Kelly told Knowles.
“But to see what a major beer company is supposed to be, that was a bridge too far. That’s why they have the reaction that they are.
Knowles said that by sponsoring Mulvaney, “Budweiser (also made by Anheuser-Busch) has insulted women, but by making that statement, they have insulted Americans.”
The single post campaign on April 1st saw Mulvaney – a famous influencer – display a beer can with a picture of her face on it, which she was sent to get by Bud Light to celebrate her one year transition.
Mulvaney has been documenting every day of the first year since her gender transition on TikTok, where she has amassed more than 10 million followers.
The post also saw her announce the March Madness contest.
With Bud Light being a popular drink among conservatives in America, Whitworth appeared to backtrack from the path of the envisioned progressive partnership.
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” he said in the statement, which the CEO posted on Twitter. “We’re in the business of getting people together for a beer.”
But Kelly was not happy with the statement.
Kelly argued that the statement on Friday from Brendan Whitworth (pictured) – the brewing giant’s chief executive – was not enough because he did not directly apologize for the campaign.
Brendan Whitworth, 46, has been the CEO of Anheuser-Busch since July 2021. The former Navy and CIA agent has been registered as a Republican for most of his adult life
It was a ‘pathetic, rambling, airless sandwich’ she said – I can’t even call it an apology – trying to dissuade people from hating his company and him.
“It was a complete failure,” Kelly declared.
And she continued, “Fuck you and your stupid, empty nonsense. Reading this, I’m like, ‘Oh, your little market-tested buzzwords about what’s supposed to stir up our patriotism. ‘ Too late, sir!”
The buzzwords we’re looking for: ‘I’m sorry. We’re screwed “.
The Bud Light promotion initially backfired on Anheuser-Busch, seeing the brewing giant $5 billion of its value wiped out after the partnership was announced. Since then, its stock has rebounded again.
Many Republican figures have spoken out against Bud Light, though some backtracked after realizing Anheuser-Busch is a big donor to the GOP and other conservative causes.
Among the speakers against Bud Light is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who revealed in a video that he dislikes the taste of Bud Light and prefers Guinness — and supports an ongoing boycott of the US beer brand.
talking on Penny offer“Why do you want to drink Bud Light?” DeSantis said. I mean, honestly, it’s like they rubbed our faces in it and it’s like these companies do that, if they don’t have a response, they’ll keep doing it.
“So, if I as a consumer are like…” Like, yeah, they do, but I’m going to keep drinking anyway. Well, then they will continue to do that.
DeSantis admitted he’d been caught drinking Budweiser regularly — but said pubs were hard to get into, and he enjoys the famous Irish brew more.
However, commentators were quick to point out that – according to Transparency USA (a website that tracks corporate donations) – DeSantis and the Republican Party of Florida received donations from Anheuser Busch.
The site shows DeSantis received a $50,000 donation from the company on February 24, 2022, with the GOP of Florida receiving the same amount from the company two weeks later in March 2022.
DeSantis’ stance also puts him at odds with Donald Trump Jr., who over the weekend called for an end to the Bud Light boycott.
In a video message, Trump Jr. stressed the brewer’s conservative credentials, saying it was wrong to “blame the entire company on inaction or someone’s stupidity in a marketing campaign that got up as hell.”
He said he researched Anheuser-Busch and saw that they donate primarily to Republicans, and said fellow conservatives sometimes have “a tendency — shoot first and target second.”
Trump Jr. said the decision to partner with Mulvaney was made by a low-level marketing employee, not the top executives.
We looked at political bidding and the history of lobbying at Anheuser-Busch. And guess what? “They really support the Republicans,” Trump Jr. said.
Last cycle, their staff and PAC gave about 60 percent to Republicans and 40 percent to Democrats. This is almost unheard of in corporate America, where it’s really easy to wake up, where they do it constantly, where there is a result of being conservative in fact. So a 60/40 ratio to the conservative side is kind of a big deal.
It was also reported Sunday that the National Republican Congressional Committee quietly took down a fundraising page targeting Anheuser Bush.
Bud Light faced significant backlash from conservative figures. Kid Rock posted a video (pictured) wearing a white MAGA hat firing his gun at Bud Light cases
Dylan Mulvaney’s hit TikTok series Days of Girlhood traces the influencer’s transition from guy to girl, which some critics have called “creepy”
“Thanks to Dylan Mulvaney, we can all finally admit that Pod Lite tastes like water,” NRCC said in a since-deleted tweet. “With our new koozie’s, you can be sure no one confuses Bud Light with real ale again.”
But the tweet was quietly deleted, likely due to the company being a major donor to the Republican Party. In the 2022 election cycle alone, Anheuser-Busch and its employees gave NRCC $464,505, according to The Daily Beast.
A new poll shows most Americans support boycotting Anheuser-Busch over Bud Light’s relationship with Mulvaney, and say big companies pay too much attention to transgender people.
A Rasmussen Reports survey of about 1,000 adults found that the brewing giant had ‘got into a hornet’s nest’ by getting Mulvaney, the 26-year-old controversial TikToker, to promote low-calorie beer.
