Bud Light Brewer Puts Another Top Executive on Leave Amid Dylan Mulvaney Fallout

Another top executive at Bud Light's parent company has taken a leave of absence amid an ongoing backlash over its partnership with transgender influencer and activist Dylan Mulvaney.

Anheuser-Busch, based in St. Louis, Missouri, said Daniel Blake, the vice president overseeing marketing across its mainstream brands, was taking a leave of absence. It comes just days after trade magazine Ad Age revealed Alissa Heinerscheid had also stepped back from her role as marketing chief for Bud Light.

Newsweek emailed Anheuser-Busch for comment on Monday.

The beer brand has faced calls for a boycott after sending a personalized can to Dylan Mulvaney—a transgender influencer who has promoted Bud Light to her millions of social media followers—to commemorate her 365 days of being a woman. The row has fed into a broader debate about the acceptance of transgender individuals in public life.

 Bud Light boycott
The Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, Missouri and, inset, a sign disparaging Bud Light beer seen along a country road on April 21, 2023 in Arco, Idaho. Anheuser-Busch, the brewer of Bud Light, has faced... Anheuser-Busch/Getty Images/Natalie Behring

Following the boycott calls, supporters of Kari Lake, the Donald Trump-backed GOP candidate for Arizona Governor in 2022, refused to drink the beer at an open bar at a rally in Iowa. Meanwhile, a bar owner in Kentucky said he had noticed the drink sparking rows between patrons. Other licensed venues have withdrawn the beer from sale.

The partnership has drawn public displays of anger. Musician Kid Rock took a gun to several cases of Bud Light in a viral video, while a Republican state senator in Missouri posted a video of himself smashing a can with a baseball bat outside his state's Capitol building.

Many prominent figures have also waded into the debate. Donald Trump Jr. and Marjorie Taylor Greene are among those to have made reference to the row. Celebrities such as Joe Rogan and Caitlyn Jenner have also weighed in.

The controversy has caught the attention of the White House, which condemned threats made against Anheuser-Busch. Biden administration press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of a bomb threat against one of their facilities that "violence and vitriol against transgender Americans has to stop."

On Friday, it emerged that Heinerscheid had taken a leave of absence from her role at the company. She had been replaced by Todd Allen, the vice president for the marketing of another of Anheuser-Busch's beer brands, Budweiser. Those who had spoken out against the brand saw it as a sign that the boycotting calls had worked.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch said the company would also streamline marketing. This would be "so that our most senior marketers are more closely connected to every aspect of our brand's activities."

The spokesperson added: "These steps will help us maintain focus on the things we do best: brewing great beer for all consumers, while always making a positive impact in our communities and on our country."

Then, on Sunday, the company stated that Blake had "also decided to take a leave of absence."

According to the Wall Street Journal, the decision for Blake to go on leave was not voluntary. The company has not named a replacement to Blake as it had with Heinerscheid.

Anheuser-Busch has appeared to have made several attempts at damage control over the social-media furor. While the company has remained largely silent online, on April 14, CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement in which he said: "We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people."

The former member of the Marine Corps and the CIA added: "My time serving this country taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work, and respect for one another."

The same day, Budweiser released an advert infused with patriotic imagery. The company said the beer is "rooted in the heart of America"—which was perceived as an attempt to appeal to the company's traditional consumers and move on from the debacle.

Following its release, many criticized the company online, either for appearing to pander to those outraged by the Bud Light partnership, or for not doing enough to quell the furor. The ad also attracted the criticism of animal-rights group PETA, which said the commercial had featured a horse with a "cruelly amputated" tail.

Update 3/30/23, 9:19 a.m. ET: This headline has been updated to include reference of backlash to Bud Light's collaboration with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney

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About the writer


Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more

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