Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary slaps down Mark Cuban’s claims ‘going woke is good for business’

‘Shark Tank’ investor Kevin O’Leary has dismissed his co-star Mark Cuban’s claim that ‘waking up’ benefits corporations and argued that the role of corporations is ‘not to educate society on the social problem of the day”.

During an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, O’Leary pointed out that companies such as Target and Anheuser-Busch that engage in politics have the potential to alienate some of their customer base.

Shark Tank star and NBA owner Mark Cuban said ‘waking up is good for business’ and countered the notion that companies embracing ‘woke’ ideology suffer the financial consequences, according to a report. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interview on Sunday.

Cuban told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the ongoing backlash will ease despite the two companies’ massive losses worth billions of dollars, as Anheuser-Busch and Target Corporation battle backlash from LGBTQ+ marketing programs.

Since partnering with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney in April, AB-InBev has seen its market capitalization plummet by $22.6 billion. Bud Light also lost its top-selling beer accolade to Modelo Especial in May.

Cuban addressed the backlash that Anheuser-Busch and the Target Corporation have faced for their promotion of LGBTQ+ ideologies, but he argued that the perceived losses these companies have suffered were not the result of their joining the awakening.

Cuban cited the success of several prominent American companies, which he considers “woke,” as proof that it is, in fact, good for business, despite evidence and experts proving otherwise.

But O’Leary argued that companies should steer clear of divisive political issues – and should be respectful of their audience, which may have different viewpoints.

“When you’re Disney or you’re a beer company or you’re Target, you have customers of all kinds. Republicans, Democrats, Gender or Non-Gender. It doesn’t matter, he said.

When businesses pick a side, they can essentially lose half their customer base, he explained.

“You want to sell everything to everyone all the time. When you get involved in partisan issues, you essentially lose 50% of your constituency,” O’Leary said. “Why would you do that when you’re a consumer goods or services company, everyone learns, it makes absolutely no sense.”

O’Leary advocates for companies to stay in their lane – and focus primarily on what they offer consumers.

O’Leary argues that companies should steer clear of divisive political issues – and should be respectful of their audience, which may have different viewpoints

Shark Tank star Mark Cuban (pictured) says ‘waking up is good for business’ as Anheuser-Busch and Target Corporation battle backlash from LGBTQ+ marketing programs

“The role of a company, a company in America for 200 years, has been to serve customers, their employees and their shareholders. Their role is not to educate society on the social issue of the day, he added.

“They learn that very quickly. And in the case of companies, you can measure it by the second when they go public by the share price.

Just yesterday, reports show Bud Light’s sales fell again, this time by 24.4% last week, while its rival brand Modelo Especial soared.

Bud Light has seen its sales continue to fall amid continued backlash from its disastrous collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

The beer giant lost its spot as America’s number one beer brand to Modelo Especial due to controversy, a position it held for more than 22 years.

In the week ending June 3, Bud Light sales fell 24.4%, which is even worse than the previous week’s 23.9% drop.

The bartenders have even claimed that “no one wants Bud Light at their event anymore” since the company was dethroned as America’s top-selling beer following the controversy.

Target is another company that has proven that waking up means going broke.

Following its decision to stock “tuck-friendly” transgender swimwear and the growth of Pride merchandise, Target lost $12 billion in 14 days.

Since partnering with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney on April 1, AB-InBev has seen its market capitalization plummet by $22.6 billion.

Meanwhile, Target Corporation saw a $10 billion drop from $74.11 billion within 10 days of its Pride-themed merchandise promotion

Bud Light lost its top-selling beer accolade to Modelo Especial in May.

The retail giant’s market capitalization tumbled after its longest losing streak in five years as shares fell to their lowest level in a year.

Target lost $15 billion of its market capitalization as outrage grew amid the Pride ‘tuck-friendly’ swimwear controversy.

Last week, shares of the Minneapolis-based company fell another 3.26% at the close of trading. Target’s stock price now sits at $126.99 per share, down from a high of nearly $162 per share last month.

Before being engulfed in controversy, Target’s market value stood at more than $74 billion, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group. Its market capitalization – calculated by multiplying the number of shares by the price per share – now stands at just $54 billion.

“When you lose nine, 10, 11, 12 billion dollars in market cap, you know you’ve offended someone and that person is your customer. That’s bad business. Really bad business,” said O’Leary.