Trans comedian who appeared in the Bud Light commercial says the company used Dylan Mulvaney to make money

A transgender comedian who appeared in a Bud Light commercial in 2016 now claims the company was “never real” and used current issues, such as working with trans Dylan Mulvaney, to make money.

Speak against Ad AgeIan Harvie said he never felt that Anheuser-Busch was a true transgender ally — not even when he appeared in a commercial proclaiming that “gender identity [is] really a spectrum and we don’t need those labels.’

He said he felt the company was only interested in hot button issues to make money.

And he slammed the company for not supporting transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney, as it faced backlash for partnering with her.

Harvie’s comments came as Anheuser-Busch’s CEO unceremoniously denied the disastrous stunt — insisting it was “not a campaign,” while a letter to retailers says it was “just one can.”

In 2016, Harvie – a transgender man – appeared in an ad for Bud Light with Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen.

The television spot said that Bud Light isn’t just for men and women, but for “people of all genders,” noting “Gender identity — it’s really a spectrum, and we don’t need those labels.”

Rogen added, “Beer should have labels, not people.

“We don’t care,” he said at the end. “We’ll sell you a beer.”

But now, years later, Harvie says he never really felt supported by the company.

“I don’t believe in the Anheuser-Busch alliance,” he told Ad Age. “It’s not about diversity, it’s about dollars.”

Harvie added that he too only participated in the commercial because he needed the money.

“To be honest, it was about the dollars for me, too,” Harvie admitted. “I am a working comedic actor. I loved being in Amy Schumer’s presence and glad I got a nice salary for it.”

But, he said, ‘I’m 30 years sober – I don’t even drink.

“I didn’t believe in the alliance from the start,” he added.

The comedian also accused Anheuser-Busch of trying to take advantage of 26-year-old Dylan Mulvaney, who became a TikTok star with her “365 Days of Girlhood” series, which documents her years of transition.

“They looked at her socials and just said, ‘You know what? Here’s a topic that’s hot right now: why don’t we pay this person to do a promotion?’

And, he said, he was “disturbed” that Anheuser-Busch never issued a statement of support for Mulvaney in the aftermath.

“They should have doubled,” Harvie objected. “They should have said, ‘Do you think it’s offensive for a trans person to promote Bud Light? Well, here’s 10 more.'”

He said the Mulvaney campaign was different from his 2016 ad because trans women feel more hatred than men.

“As much as I feel scared and in danger — I just traveled to Florida and my eyes were definitely peeled — the truth is that transphobic responses are so much more visceral around trans women than trans men,” Harvie argued.

“This is largely rooted in misogyny and transphobia combined,” he said, adding that in 2016 many viewers probably didn’t know he was transgender.

But, Harvie said, he doesn’t think the public boycott of Bud Light will have a major effect on the company — even if sales of the U.S. flagship beer plummeted 26 percent since the launch of Mulvaney’s March Madness campaign.

“The truth is Kid Rock and his minions are still going to drink it,” Harvie said of the singer famously shooting a case of Bud Light into the air.

“They’re going to scream about it, but they keep drinking it,” he countered. “It doesn’t change the taste or the price for them.” They’re not tankards.’

After Mulvaney posted a video to her socials on April 1 saying she was working with Bud Light and showing a can with her face on it, the company lost more than $6 billion in market cap in just six days.

Shares of the beer giant traded roughly with just over a 5 percent drop in total share value and the company’s market capitalization was $113.33 billion.

And in the first week after the campaign launched, Bud Light sales were down 6 percent, while Coors Light was up 3.5 percent and Miller Lite was up 3.1 percent.

Between April 2 and April 15, total Bud Light sales volume in bars and restaurants fell 34.7 percent.

Now in its second week of controversy, Bud Light has dropped to the fourth spot of most popular beer on tap, losing out to Coors Light.

It was later revealed that Bud Light’s vice president of marketing Alissa Heinerscheid was hired to overhaul the company’s marketing image in June 2022 and create a new campaign for the beer giant.

She spoke out just two days before the controversial campaign, saying the company had a “fratty” image that needed to be changed.

Heinerscheid took a leave of absence as the company dealt with the campaign backlash in the aftermath, with the company’s vice president for the mainstream brand, Daniel Brand, stepping down just a few days later.

The company said both bosses had “decided” to step down temporarily, but their decisions were reportedly not voluntary.

‘Given the circumstances, Alissa has decided to take leave, which we support. Daniel has also decided to take a leave of absence,” the company said.

Executives now say there was no “management awareness” of the now infamous campaign and have blamed an outside advertising agency.

On Thursday, Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris told investors in an earnings call that “misinformation” is being spread on social media about the company’s partnership with Mulvaney.

“We need to clarify the facts that this was one camp, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” he said in an earnings call.

“We will continue to learn, meet the moment in time, all be stronger and we will work tirelessly to do what we do best: bring people together over a beer and create a future of more cheer.”

Doukeris also said Bud Light will triple its marketing spend this summer in an effort to lure customers back to the compromised brand, adding that the company is providing “direct financial support” to frontline workers affected by the boycott.

Meanwhile, a letter was sent to retailers, bars and restaurants by Gray Eagle, which distributes Anheuser-Busch products around St. Louis.

It read: “Anheuser-Busch did not intend to create controversy or make a political statement.

“In reality, the Bud Light post was made by a social media influencer who started all the conversation, provided by an outside agency without Anheuser-Busch management’s knowledge or approval.

“Since then, the lack of oversight and control over marketing decisions has been addressed and a new VP of Bud Light marketing has been announced.”