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- Bud Light and its parent company faced boycott calls for partnering with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
- But a new poll found a majority of American beer drinkers favor brands partnering with trans influencers.
- A majority of beer drinkers also favored brands hiring more inclusive talent, per Morning Consult.
Despite a recent backlash, a majority of US beer drinkers appear to approve of brands partnering with transgender personalities.
That's according to a new poll by Morning Consult that surveyed 4,401 people two weeks after trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney announced her partnership with Bud Light on April 1.
Some right-wing groups – who have made transphobia a key part of their national message – immediately vilified Mulvaney, Bud Light, and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch, calling for mass boycotts.
Yet of the monthly beer drinkers surveyed by Morning Consult, 53% responded that they had a very favorable or somewhat favorable response to a brand hiring a transgender spokesperson.
Moreover, 61% of regular beer drinkers had a very favorable or somewhat favorable response to brands hiring more inclusive advertising talent.
The poll also asked respondents about their political affiliations. Some 66% of Democrats had favorable responses while 49% of Republicans had unfavorable responses.
That said, the results among Republicans were by no means unanimous, despite recent outrage by some who were unhappy about Bud Light's partnership with Mulvaney. About a quarter of those surveyed who identified as Republicans responded favorably to brands hiring transgender spokespeople.
Either way, Bud Light is still feeling the heat from the backlash.
Bud Light sales were down 17% this week compared to the same time the previous year, and top marketing executives involved in the Mulvaney campaign at Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch took leaves of absence.
Mulvaney also partnered with Nike, prompting similar calls for a boycott. The company responded by saying it would not tolerate bullying or hate speech.
It's not the first boycott conservatives have launched, but it may — at least for now — be more successful than previous attempts. In 2018, conservatives called for boycotts of Nike after it partnered with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Despite the noise, Nike later reported booming sales.