News anchor Megyn Kelly hit back last night after being labeled a “transphobe” for calling on Anheuser-Busch’s CEO to apologize for Bud Light’s affiliation with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, sparking a backlash from conservatives.
In angry comments on Sirius XM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show,” the host had accused Mulvaney of “making a mockery of women’s and girls’ lives” and berated the creator of Bud Light, saying, “Screw and you stupid, empty platitudes.’
In promoting a trans woman who is “celebrated by the far left across the country,” Kelly said Anheuser-Busch had — in their own words — put themselves in the middle of a discussion that divides people.
Kelly faced backlash for her comments, with critics saying she deliberately misused Mulvaney and came across as transphobic.
But in a tweet on Tuesday, the podcast host hit back, telling her 2.7 million followers on the platform that she “speaks the truth.”
News anchor Megyn Kelly (pictured) hit back last night after being labeled a “transphobe” for calling on Anheuser-Busch’s CEO to apologize for Bud Light’s affiliation with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, prompting a backlash from conservatives
In a tweet on Tuesday, the podcast host hit back at suggestions her comments were transphobic, telling her 2.7 million followers on the platform that she “speaks the truth.”
By promoting Dylan Mulvaney (pictured in her Bud Light promotional video) – a trans woman who is “celebrated by the far left across the country” – Kelly said Anheuser-Busch had – in their own words – put themselves in the middle of the world. a discussion that divides people’
She wrote, “Call me whatever you want. I speak the truth. And neither I nor the millions of other women (and men) who believe in biology/reality/fairness will be discouraged by your attempts to marginalize us with words like “transphobic.”
The former Fox News host’s tweet has since become vitally important, racking up more than 5.5 million views and nearly 50,000 likes.
Her post was in direct response to an article on The Wrap, which itself reported on her previous comments during a conversation with Michael Knowles of “The Daily Wire” in which she joined a growing number of conservative Americans in calling on Anheuser-Busch to apologize for the cooperation.
The pair argued that a statement on Friday from Brendan Whitworth – the brewing giant’s CEO – was insufficient as he did not directly apologize for the campaign.
“This person sitting on his beer can has literally spent the past year poking fun at women’s and girls’ lives and has been celebrated by far-leftists across the country,” Kelly told Knowles.
‘But to see what a mainstream beer company should be was a bridge too far. That’s why they have the reaction they have.’
Knowles had said that Budweiser (also made by Anheuser-Busch) had offended women by sponsoring Mulvaney, but by issuing this statement they offended Americans.”
During the April 1 single-post campaign, Mulvaney — a popular trans influencer — presented a beer can with a photo of her face on it, which was sent by Bud Light to celebrate her one-year transition anniversary.
Mulvaney documents every day of the first year since her gender transition on TikTok, with over 10 million followers.
In the post, she also announced a March Madness contest.
With Bud Light, a popular drink among conservatives in America, Whitworth seemed to be chasing the supposed progressive partnership.
“It was never our intention to be part of a discussion that divides people,” he said in the statement the CEO posted on Twitter. ‘It’s our job to bring people together over a beer.’
But Kelly was not happy with the statement.
Kelly argued that a statement on Friday from Brendan Whitworth (pictured) – the brewing giant’s CEO – was insufficient as 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 operative has been registered as a Republican for most of his adult life.
She said it was a “pathetic, incoherent, empty-air sandwich of — I can’t even call it an apology — an attempt to keep people from hating his company and him.
“It was an utter failure,” Kelly declared.
She continued, “Fuck you and your stupid empty platitudes. I read this and thought, “Oh, your little market-tested buzzwords about what should fuel our patriotism.” Too late, sir!
“The buzzwords we’re looking for: ‘I’m sorry. We screwed up.'”
Bud Light’s promotional campaign initially backfired on Anheuser-Busch, with the brewing giant seeing $5 billion wiped from its value after the partnership was announced. The stock has since bounced back.
Several Republican figures have spoken out against Bud Light, though some reversed their stance when they realized that Anheuser-Busch is a major donor to the Republican Party and other conservative causes.
Those speaking out against Bud Light include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who revealed in a video that he dislikes the taste of Bud Light and prefers Guinness — and supports the continued boycott of the American beer brand.
Speaking The Benny Show, DeSantis said, “Why would you want to drink Bud Light? I mean, honestly, that’s like they’re rubbing our faces in it and it’s like these companies doing this, if they never get a response, they’ll just keep doing it.
“So, if you’re thinking as a consumer…”Like, yeah, they do, but I’ll just keep drinking anyway.” Well, then they keep doing it.’
DeSantis admitted that he had been caught drinking regular Budweiser before, but said it was hard to get into bars and that he enjoys Ireland’s most famous drink more.
However, commentators were quick to point out that — according to Transparency USA (a website that tracks corporate donations) — DeSantis and the Florida Republican Party have received donations from Anheuser Busch.
The website shows that DeSantis received a $50,000 donation from the company on February 24, 2022, while the Florida Republican Party received the same amount from the company two weeks later in March 2022.
DeSantis’ stance also puts him at odds with Donald Trump Jr, who this weekend called for an end to the Bud Light boycott.
In a video message, Trump Jr. the brewer’s conservative credentials and said it was wrong to “blame the entire company for the inaction or stupidity of someone in a marketing campaign that woke up like hell.”
He said he researched Anheuser-Busch and saw that they donated primarily to Republicans, saying his fellow conservatives sometimes “tended to shoot first and aim second.”
Trump Jr. said the decision to partner with Mulvaney was reportedly made by a low-level marketing executive, rather than the senior executives.
“We looked at Anheuser-Busch’s history of political giving and lobbying. Guess what? They actually support Republicans,” Trump Jr. said.
Last cycle, their employees and their PAC gave about 60 percent to Republicans and 40 percent to Democrats. That’s literally almost unheard of in corporate America, where it’s very easy to wake up, where they do it all the time, where it has a consequence to be conservative. So 60/40 on the conservative side is quite something.”
It was also reported on Sunday that the National Republican Congressional Committee had quietly removed a fundraising page targeting Anheuser-Busch.
Bud Light has faced massive backlash from conservative figures. Kid Rock posted a video (pictured) wearing a white MAGA hat firing his shotgun at Bud Light cases
Dylan Mulvaney’s hit TikTok series Days of Girlhood follows the influencer’s male-to-girl transition, which some critics have called “creepy”
“Thanks to Dylan Mulvaney, we can all finally admit that Bud Light tastes like water,” the NRCC said in a now-deleted tweet. “With our new koozies you make sure no one ever confuses Bud Light with real beer again.”
But the tweet was quietly deleted, likely because the company was a major contributor to the Republican Party. In the 2022 election cycle alone, Anheuser-Busch and its employees gave the NRCC $464,505, according to the Daily beast.
Nevertheless, a survey found that most Americans support the Anheuser-Busch boycott because of the Bud Light-Mulvaney bond, and say big companies pay too much attention to transgender people, a new poll shows.
A Rasmussen Reports survey of some 1,000 adults found that the brewing giant “stepped into a hornet’s nest” by getting 26-year-old Mulvaney, a controversial TikToker, to promote their low-calorie beer.