Joe Rogan sipped from a can of Bud Light on a recent episode of his podcast, as he criticized the ongoing "culture war" in the U.S. over the beer brand.
In the opening moments of The Joe Rogan Experience, the comedian welcomed country music star Zach Bryan, before the two discussed the months-long boycott of Bud Light that continues to dominate conversations on social media.
The Anheuser-Busch InBev brand has seen its popularity plummet in recent months, after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney unveiled a small partnership with Bud Light on April 1. In a video posted to Instagram, Mulvaney said Bud Light had sent her a can with her face on it to commemorate her 365 days of living as a woman.
A number of conservative activists subsequently led a boycott of Bud Light, with musicians Kid Rock, Travis Tritt and John Rich joining those who spoke out against the brand after the collaboration. Meanwhile, some in the LGBTQ+ community slammed the company for not defending its ties with Mulvaney.
Since the calls for a boycott began almost four months ago, Bud Light has seen a drop-off in domestic sales. Revenue remains consistently below what it was at the same time in 2022. The company has also lost its crown as America's most-popular beer, with Mexican rival c now in the U.S. top spot.
Rogan criticized the backlash on an August 1 episode of his show, where he greeted Bryan before quipping: "And we're drinking Bud Lights, ladies and gentleman. Sorry. There's nothing wrong with it."
After they took gulps from their cans and toasted one another, Rogan continued: "People are so silly. We were just talking about silliness. One person made a really stupid decision, and now everybody's decided that Bud Light is the enemy. But that's like this thing that people do in America, where they just decide, 'Now I hate these people. These people are the enemy.'"
Bryan also weighed in on the ongoing furor, saying that he fell foul of Bud Light detractors when he chose to speak out in defense of a family member.
"I've [drunk] Budweiser and Bud Light for like my entire adult life," the musician told Rogan. "And then on Twitter I defended my sister's spouse, and people were like... people were p*****... And I was like, I didn't mean to do this. It was crazy."
In the earlier stages of the Bud Light backlash, Bryan publicly expressed his objection to the anti-transgender sentiment that he'd seen sweeping social media amid the backlash against the beleaguered beer brand.
"I mean no disrespect towards anyone specifically, I don't even mind @Travistritt," he tweeted in April. "I just think insulting transgender people is completely wrong because we live in a country where we can all just be who we want to be. It's a great day to be alive I thought."
The message was endorsed by Sheryl Crow, who wrote "thank you" in response. Crow collaborated with Kid Rock on the tracks "Picture" and "Collide."
Bryan also weighed in on criticism of former competitive swimmer Riley Gaines, who has campaigned against the inclusion of trans women in women's sports.
"And yo I don't support transgender people attacking swimmers," he tweeted. "I just have family transitioning and have blood to defend here. No one threaten me pls."
Bryan added that it was "absolutely terrifying that saying 'insulting others is wrong' is reason enough for people to get so evil so quick."
Elsewhere in his interview with Rogan, Bryan said that he had an exchange of views with fellow country star Tritt, who joined the chorus of those objecting to Bud Light over its collaboration with Mulvaney.
"Travis Tritt is so respectable and he's like a good guy," Bryan said. "I met him at the Two Step Inn [in Texas]. And it was cool to get to talk to him about it and see like two different views. It was cool sitting in the room with him and hearing it."
Rogan responded by saying that "the culture war in this country is so goofy. It's so overblown and a lot of it is just people not talking to each other. It's people talking through social media and talking through narratives."
"It freaks me out," Bryan said, before explaining how his rising fame has affected his actions. "Being so public... it's so scary. I feel like it keeps people from being who they actually are, which is terrifying. Because every time I get anywhere, I'm like, 'S***, man, I can't say or do this.' And then when you do... it's crazy."
"It's a lot of self-censoring," Rogan told his guest. "But I think it's important to speak your mind—more people have to do it. People are worried about the repercussions, but you have to understand that when you're a person like yourself or a person like me, you're communicating to millions of people.
"So you're going to have a certain percentage of them that are upset at everything you say. Whether you say you like to eat meat, or whether you say you think Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s a good guy... whatever the f*** you think."
Rogan previously weighed in on the Bud Light uproar on his show, where he and his guests drank cans of the beer brand. Rogan said that the backlash will "hang in there for a long time. This is gonna be one of those cultural things. There's never been a brand that got hit like this before. This is a big deal."
However, Rogan has also been critical of Mulvaney. During a recent interview with Ice Cube, Rogan said that Bud Light is "for blue-collar drinking people and they like to watch football and drink Bud Light and then all of a sudden you have this mentally ill person who's just an attention w****."
On June 29, Mulvaney accused Bud Light's parent company of turning "a blind eye" to the transphobic attacks she endured after her collaboration with the brand.
"I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did. And for months now, I've been scared to leave my house," Mulvaney said in a TikTok post. "I have been ridiculed in public. I've been followed. And I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn't wish on anyone. If this is my experience from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much, much worse for other trans people."
"For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all, because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want," she added. "And the hate doesn't end with me. It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community. And we're customers, too. I know a lot of trans and queer people who love beer."
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Bud Light via email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
