Also.Also.Also: Bud Light Affirms Trans Influncer Dylan Mulvaney’s Right to Secure That Beer Sponcon Bag

The days are getting longer! The sun was still out when I started this! Wheeeeee! 🤸

Queer as in F*ck You

Bud Light Defends Partnership With Trans TikTok Star Dylan Mulvaney and Kid Rock Shoots Bud Light Cans After Company Partners With Transgender Woman. This is normally not something I’d take interest in, to be completely honest! But the discourse around this over the last few days has been fascinating to me. So first, Bud Light recently partnered with Dylan Mulvaney — an actress who’s previously appeared in Broadway productions of The Book of Mormon, Legally Blonde, and Bye Bye Birdie; but is most famous for easily being one of the largest LGBT+ influencers on TikTok — to promote the company’s March Madness contest to her 10.8 million followers across social media platforms. I believe there’s also a custom beer with her face on it? But back on topic! In the video, Mulvaney appears dressed as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and identifies herself as a “Bud Light Partner.”

Of course, this marketing sparked backlash among conservatives (who are apparently so passionate about their beer?? AMERICA! 🇺🇸🦅). That includes a different Instagram video of Kid Rock wearing a MAGA hat — naturally, of course — and shooting several cans of Bud Light to express his righteous anger! Meanwhile, much more interestingly, it’s also brought up all this really dope queer history of Bud Light that dates back to 1977 when Bud Light was often the default cheap beer at gay bars after labor unions and LGBT groups jointly organized a boycott of Coors to protest Coors’ practice of forcing employees to take polygraph tests that included questions about their sexual orientation (a story that involves thee Harvey Milk himself!)

Ok so to wrap this up, in a statement to BuzzFeed News Anheuser-Busch (the owners of Bud Light) stood by its partnership with Mulvaney, saying: “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics.” And I hope everyone uses this opportunity to read: Bud Light Is the Dykiest Domestic Lager — Change My Mind by our Managing Editor Kayla Kumari, published just last year.

And on to other queer news!

Queer Community in the South Is Worth Fighting For. “People discredit us and they discredit our state, but this is my home; why should I leave my home?”

The Lesbian Bar Isn’t Dead. It’s Pouring Orange Wine in Los Angeles. “Two recent openings testify to the power, and joy, of queer spaces.”

What’s at Stake for Trans Latines as States Ban the Term “Latinx”

Saw This, Thought of You

Reggaeton Has a Color Blindness Problem. “In a recent Time profile, Bad Bunny was asked about colorism and anti-Blackness in reggaetón. His response was less than ideal.” (If you’re fan of Benito, this is a necessary read.)

Angel Reese, Angela Bassett, and the Unfair Standards of ‘Professionalism’

The Unbearable Costs of Becoming a Writer, this is a little inside baseball if you aren’t in media, but it’s meant a lot to everyone I know who’ve read it.

Parasocial Relationships Are Just Imaginary Friends for Adults. hahahaha, what a headline!

Idaho Just Made Up a New Class of Abortion Crimes. I hate it, thanks.

Political Snacks

I am going with Natalie on this one, “Imagine if people had just believed Anita Hill.” Clarence Thomas Secretly Accepted Luxury Trips From Major GOP Donor. “The undisclosed gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the Supreme Court.”

(And alt headline on the above that made me laugh, Clarence Thomas Broke the Law and It Isn’t Even Close)

Supreme Court Lets Transgender Girl Stay on School Track Team. It’s the first time SCOTUS has acted on a wave of anti-trans state restrictions in sports.

Brandon Johnson Appears To Win Chicago Mayor’s Race, congratulations to the progressive coalition that came together for this to happen!

And in much worse news, Tennessee House Expels First of Three Democrats Who Joined Gun-Control Protests.

The Dangerous Fantasy of Trump’s Indictment. “Why the circus surrounding his arrest may do more harm than good.” Listen if I’m gonna do one thing, it’s always remind you to read Rebecca Traister.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

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Carmen Phillips

Carmen Phillips is Autostraddle's former editor in chief. She began at Autostraddle in 2017 as a freelance team writer and worked her way up through the company, eventually becoming the EIC from 2021-2024. A Black Puerto Rican feminist writer with a PhD in American Studies from New York University, Carmen specializes in writing about Blackness, race, queerness, politics, culture, and the many ways we find community and connection with each other.  During her time at Autostraddle, Carmen focused on pop culture, TV and film reviews, criticism, interviews, and news analysis. She claims many past homes, but left the largest parts of her heart in Detroit, Brooklyn, and Buffalo, NY. And there were several years in her early 20s when she earnestly slept with a copy of James Baldwin’s “Fire Next Time” under her pillow. To reach out, you can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram, or her website.

Carmen has written 716 articles for us.

19 Comments

  3. Bad bunny didn’t say anything that fucked up? I guess saying he never personally seen it is equivalent of saying he doesn’t believe in it? Then again believe it when I see it comes off ass oh I get it.

    • I cannot lie, I did enjoy this journey. You got there and that’s what matters!!

  4. Saw some other Country music people threatening to boycott the beer too which is an hilariously empty threat coming from that demographic. Those fuckers are NOT about to hold to not drinking Bud Light.

  5. I haven’t had beer in many, many years but from what I remember Bud Light is gross. It could be considered a weird partnership for March Madness. Sure Dylan has a lot of followers but is not even sports adjacent.

    • I assumed Bud Light was more going for a gen z crossover with Dylan (I’d go out on a limb and say most of her fans are in that core demo, which also overlaps with college students aka March Madness). It would be fun if Bud Light was trying to market to LGBT women watching the women’s tournament through Dylan?? That’s what I’m choosing to believe, but will admit it’s a stretch haha.

  6. Did he buy these beers only to shoot at them, or were they sitting in his recycling bin? Did he drink them first (beer drinkers tend to be particular about waste)? Will he return them to a separate and unequal recycling bin? And more importantly, does this man’s performance piece with these bullets and beer cans move the needle at all???

    Find out on the next Dragonball Z.

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