Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty
Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, is reporting a decline in U.S. sales.
On Thursday, the beer brand held an earnings call in which executives publicly announced the 10.5% decrease in sales in America, though they noted a 7.2% increase in revenue worldwide. The company credits the U.S. plunge to a “volume declineof Bud Light.”
In April, actor and social media influencerDylan Mulvaney, who is transgender, posted a short clip from her partnership with Bud Light to Twitter. The post sparked negative commentary among conservative social media personalities,politiciansand celebrities, many of whom used transphobic rhetoric to attack Bud Light forturning to “woke” advertising.
Not only did those using harmful rhetoric call for a “boycott” of the brand’s products, but members and advocates of the LGBTQ community also shamed Anheuser-Busch for not reaching out to Mulvaney amid harmful transphobic threats.
G Fiume/Getty
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“The consumer will always be at the center of everything we do. All of us at AB deeply care about and respect all our consumers,” he continued.
Doukeris then explained points of customers’ feedback, including that they “want to enjoy their beer without the debate.”
Other consumer points included that they’d like “Bud Light to focus on beer” and “concentrate on platforms that all consumers love such as NFL and music.”
The discussion on the Bud Light controversy ended with the CEO saying there were “signals of improvement” and the company added that the market share has stabilized since late April.
Mulvaneyseemingly addressed Bud Light for the first time publicly in late June.
Dylan Mulvaney’s partnership with Bud Light.dylan mulvaney/Instagram; Getty
dylan mulvaney/Instagram; Getty
“For months now, I’ve been scared to leave my house. I have been ridiculed in public. I’ve been followed. And I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” she said. “If this is my experience from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much, much worse for other trans people."
source: people.com
