Legendary rockstar and Beach Boys alum Mike Love simultaneously poked fun at left-wing “cancel culture” and took a jab at Bud Light and Budweiser beers. The brand’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, promoted controversial transgender activism on its customer base in the spring.
While introducing his Beach Boys’ summer anthem “Surfer Girl,” Love joked about how the song is “gender specific” and mockingly offered an apology before triggering leftists.
“At any rate, this next song I’m a little concerned about doing, on account of… it’s gender specific,” Love said as the audience laughed. “And I hope there’s nobody from Budweiser here… or the FBI.”
“Sorry, I apologize in advance for anything I might say or do… it’s a family tradition, you know what I’m saying?” Love joked. “This is dedicated to all the ladies.”
Mike Love claims he is afraid to perform 'Surfer Girl' because it is "gender specific", implies that he fears retaliation from the FBI and the Budweiser corporation. (2023) pic.twitter.com/sBKcho8CNs
— Crazy Ass Moments in Beach Boys History (@beachboysmoment) July 9, 2023
High-profile investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary says he believes the historic collapse of Bud Light will be a topic for business schools moving forward.
“This is an extraordinary case, and one I’ll be teaching in business schools across America this fall,” O’Leary explained. “In the history of beer, in the history from when it was marketed, because remember, you’re dealing with a commodity. Beer is essentially the same. What differentiates it is brand.”
“So you spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year building up a brand, and then you have to ask yourself on a campaign that really brings you into a discussion around gender identity, ‘is that the right thing for my beer brand?’” O’Leary continued.
“Well, apparently not, because if you spend $200 million a year, the biggest moves in the beer market were measured by 1 to 5% in a year. That’s an extraordinary volatility.”
Kevin O'Leary explaining the Bud Light problem.@kevinolearytv https://t.co/yvrnnfQCHD pic.twitter.com/LKAqNv0ZMs
— Renato Lopes (@renatopllopes) June 4, 2023
“To lose 25% market share has never been achieved, and it’s impossible to even dream it,” he said. “So what have you learned? Social media – a widely held view amongst my CEOs is that if you get a bad social media story, it’s going to go away in 24 to 48 hours.”
“But that didn’t happen here. We’re still talking about this situation months later, and they continue to lose share. That, number one, is an issue. Number two, you’ve really got to understand who your constituency is. What they did there was very damaging,” he concluded.
A poll by Rasmussen Reports in May 2023 found that the majority of American adults at 54% support a boycott of Bud Light. The poll also found that the boycott is more popular among Republicans (66%) than Democrats (42%).
Bud Light sales have plunged in recent months amid backlash to the brand’s decision to partner with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In the four weeks ending May 28, Bud Light sales fell 23% from the same time period the year before, according to data from Nielsen. This decline is even more pronounced among younger drinkers, with sales down 30% among those aged 18-24.
