A former Anheuser-Busch executive criticized the company's decision to partner with Dylan Mulvaney as “not real at all.”
“The problem with Bud Light-Dylan Mulvaney's partnership was that they weren't a real partnership at all,” Anson Frericks told Fox News Digital. “They were dealing with many of those special interests.”
Frelix began his career at Anhauser Busch in 2011 and has been with the company for over 10 years. He told Fox News Digital that he realized he needed to leave when Dei partnered with veteran-owned Black Rifle Coffee, preventing brands from making things that should be made easily in business decisions.
“I joined a company that I thought was great meritocracy, and I saw the company really changed, especially in 2020, 2021, after the Day movement was really steaming,” Frelix said.
The former executive left the company before the controversial 2023 partnership Transgender Influencer Dylan Mulbunny.
Subsequent backlash, including Bad Light's Kidlock shooting case, and posting online, has plagued the company to this day.
That's what the sale was Nearly 30% down Year by year in January 2025.
Frelix said Budlight was increasingly pressured by external interest groups like human rights campaigns to go even further and extreme in LGBTQ advocacy and ultimately alienate its core customer base.
“It was a real brand, it was about bringing together sports, humor and people. It wasn't really involved in politicized issues… and Dylan Mulbany was the face of many of these very polarized topics,” Frelix said.
Mulvaney, who appeared in “The View” on Monday, promoted her new book, “Paper Doll: Notes from A Late Bloomer,” and said she was shocked by the backlash.
“Well, I love beer and start by saying I always have one,” Mulbany said. “So when I made that deal I didn't think about it anything because I was like, 'Oh, this is perfect.' It felt like organic and that was another part of me… [but as the outcry continued to grow] I realized that I became a poster child because of this. ”
Frericks, who found effort at Vivek Ramaswamy, said the convergence of external factors put pressure on Bud Light to embrace the increasingly increasing rubric of Dei policies that ultimately led to disaster for business.
He noted that large asset managers like BlackRock are putting pressure on businesses to adopt environmental, social, governance (ESG) and DEI policies for the money they receive from pension funds in progressive states such as California and New York.
last month, BlackRock's leadership told employees The company had shifted away from DEI's policy.
The former executive claimed that European owner Inbev had the Bud Light, losing sight of the value of America, which the brand has become representative. In Frericks' view, it is normal for businesses to collude to influence social outcomes in Europe, but such partnerships are at odds with Bud Light's business values and alienated to the US customer base.
“They really adhere to different rules in Europe. Europe is a very pro-ESG pro-DEI continent,” he said.
After customer backlash, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement It did not directly mention Budweiser's partnership with Mulbany.
Still, Bud Light became the official UFC beer, enlisting comedian Shane Gillis to appear in the well-received ads that aired during the Super Bowl.
The ads where Gillis and Rapper Post Malone performed “Cul de Sac's Big Men” received praise from critics and fans.
But Freric says that Bud Wright is in place to truly recover. Perhaps the company should consider leaving its European parent company and finding an American owner.
“I've always said the path to redemption, and that goes through forgiveness,” Frelix said. He admitted that Budlight was “screwed” and added that he should ask customers for a “second chance.”
Anheuser-Busch, Mulvaney, and BlackRock did not respond to requests for comment.
