Anson Frericks, the former president of the beer empire Anheuser-Busch, has called on the company’s current CEO to resign over the disastrous fallout from Bud Light’s failed partnership with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney.
Though Frericks has been critical of the company’s response since the Mulvaney controversy began, this marks the first time he directly attacked the current CEO, Brendan Whitworth, and called for him to step down due to Bud Light’s continued decline in the marketplace.
“This chasm that we’re seeing between Bud Light and its consumers is only going to intensify because every time you come out with one of these weak statements or some of these just platitudes,” Frericks said on Varney & Co. Monday.
“That’s not addressing the problem,” he added. “And until you address the problem, I don’t see consumers coming back and coming back to this brand.”
Frericks argued that Brendan Whitworth failed to meet the moment and steer the Bud Light brand where it needed, stressing that Bud Light will continue to decline in sales if the company does not right the ship.
“We’re in the fourth month of this right now,” Frericks noted. “This is something that should have been addressed three or four months ago by clearly coming out and saying: hey, Bud Light historically was always a brand that didn’t get involved in politics.”
“Six-hundred workers at one of the Anheuser suppliers were just laid off. Unfortunately, there’s going to be more workers that can be laid off if we can’t find a CEO who is going to successfully and confidently, confidently address this situation,” Frericks explained.
As Breitbart News reported, the Ardagh Group — the glass bottling company that includes Anheuser-Busch as a partner — laid off roughly 645 employees due to a decline in sales from the Bud Light brand. Nielsen data recently showed that Bud Light volumes were down 31% going into Father’s Day weekend.
Frericks said Whitworth must come out and say that the Mulvaney advertising campaign did not protect the company shareholders.
“The shareholders of Anheuser-Busch are those firefighters, doctors, police officers, etc., and to make sure that their retirement accounts and 401(k) accounts are done well, companies need to focus on great products and services, period. That’s it,” the former president argued. “Not necessarily get involved in a lot of different political issues or social issues.”
Speaking with CBS Mornings last week, Whitworth refused to say if the company would partner with Dylan Mulvaney again:
There’s a big social conversation taking place right now, and big brands are right in the middle of it and it’s not just our industry or Bud Light. It’s happening in retail, happening in fast food. And so for us what we need to understand is — deeply understand and appreciate — is the consumer and what they want, what they care about and what they expect from big brands.
.@AnheuserBusch CEO Brendan Whitworth says his company has begun sending financial assistance wholesalers, who he says have been impacted by the recent controversy surrounding a Bud Light promotion with Dylan Mulvaney. pic.twitter.com/fpEzyBWuFW
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 28, 2023
In response, Mulvaney accused the company of enabling “transphobia” by not supporting him enough.
“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,” Mulvaney said, adding that it will have “serious and grave consequences” for the LGBTQ community.
Frericks agreed with Mulvaney, adding that the company, essentially, means nothing to anyone.
“I think Dylan said it best in saying: hey, if you’re going to come out and do a campaign with somebody, you have to support them. Otherwise, don’t do it at all,” Frericks said. “And so right now, nobody’s happy with Bud Light and Bud Light’s trying to be everything to everyone, but right now, they mean really nothing to anyone.”
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
