Anheuser-Busch CEO: Still Supporting LGBTQ Activism

Bud Light will continue to support the LGBTQ community despite the fallout for partnering with transgender liberal activist Dylan Mulvaney, according to Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth.

“There is a big social conversation taking place right now, and big brands are right in the middle of it,” Whitworth, a U.S. marine veteran and former CIA staffer, told “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday. “It’s not just our industry or Bud Light. It’s happening in retail. It’s happening in fast food.”

He added his company needs to “deeply understand and appreciate the consumer and what they want and what they care about and what they expect from big brands.”

“Bud Light has supported LGBTQ since 1998, so that’s 25 years,” Whitworth said. “As we’ve said from the beginning, we’ll continue to support the communities and organizations we’ve supported for decades.”

Anheuser-Busch employees “are full of pride and they’re full of commitment,” Whitworth said. “It’s the impact, honestly, on employees that weighs most on me.”

Bud Light (BUD) is down 15.59% since the day before the Mulvaney marketing launch ($66.73 on March 31; $56.33 at June 27 close).

The stock’s market capitalization is down $20.92 billion: $132.38 billion March 31 to $111.46 billion June 27, a decline of 15.12%.

Intraday on Wednesday morning, after Whitworth’s appearance on CBS, the stock was down as much as 50 cents.

“As we move forward we want to focus on what we do best, which is brewing great beer for everyone, listening to our consumers, being humble in listening to them, making sure that we do right by our employees, take care and support our partners, and ultimately make an impact in the communities that we serve,” Whitworth told CBS.

Whitworth said Bud Light “doesn’t belong” in the “divisive conversation,” lamenting the branding has “moved away from beer.”

Newsmax Finance Editor Lee Barney contributed to this report.