Bud Light Controversy Is Starting Fights in Bar, Owner Says

• Smokin' This and That BBQ owner Guy Cummins noticed customers verbally accosting those drinking Bud Light in his bar after the beer company sent a commemorative can to transgender activist and influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
• Cummins considered removing the brand from the menu in an effort to protect his customers from potential physical fights.
• After learning that the Bud Light sent to Mulvaney was not available for mass markets, he changed his mind and continued to sell the product.
• Anheuser-Busch said the commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.

A Kentucky BBQ restaurant owner questioned whether or not he should stop selling Bud Light after he noticed verbal altercations in his bar amid the beer brand's controversy with sending a commemorative Bud Light can to transgender activist and influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Smokin' This and That BBQ owner Guy Cummins noticed customers were verbally accosting those drinking Bud Light in his bar earlier this week. The interactions came days after Mulvaney shared a video to social media promoting Bud Light through a partnership with the company, which sent her a personalized beer can to celebrate her anniversary of transitioning to a woman. The partnership quickly led to controversy as conservative activists launched a boycott against Bud Light.

Those boycotting the beer included musician Kid Rock and supporters of 2022 Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who refused to drink free Bud Light at a recent rally of hers.

The row over transgender brand ambassadors is symbolic of a wider debate about the inclusion of transgender women in female issues and spaces. Some say transgender women should be treated the same as other women, while others say they are different and that hard-won women's rights must be protected.

Unaware of the background information and concerned that the altercations could escalate to physical fights, Cummins made a Facebook post explaining that he wouldn't sell Budweiser or Bud Light anymore.

"Smokin This And That BBQ will be no longer be serving Budweiser or Budweiser light due to inappropriate labels," the Facebook post read, which has since been deleted, but is still available on Reddit. This kind of behavior and or marketing skills speaks volumes about their lack of communication with their real time plain folk customers, please share and keep up the faith. This to shall pass."

However, after receiving pushback from his post, Cummins told Newsweek on Friday that he didn't mean to offend anyone and that he was trying to protect his customers.

Cummins said people misunderstood his intent behind the post. While some interpreted the post as transphobic, Cummins explained that the brand was leading to verbal altercations in his restaurant between customers.

"A few days ago, I noticed a person got Bud Light and the other patrons were making fun of them," Cummins said. "If it's going to cause a problem, why have it? I'm protective of the people coming in here."

Cummins added there hasn't been a fight in the restaurant's nine-year history. He told Newsweek that he wanted to keep it that way, and after observing the heated exchanges between customers when one ordered a Bud Light, he considered removing the brand from his menu. The restaurant owner says he also doesn't advertise political candidates, adding that he tries to stay uninvolved in polarizing topics.

After learning that the beer sent to Mulvaney was a gift that wouldn't be available to mass markets, the next day he changed his mind and continued to sell the product.

"It was never our intent to offend anybody's beliefs," he said. "We just don't do that."

A spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch, the company that owns Bud Light, told Newsweek on Monday that the company "works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics," adding that the commemorative can it had given to Mulvaney "was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public."