Bud Light erupted into controversy after Mulvaney showed off a Bud Light can with her face on it in an April 1 Instagram post, striking a nerve among conservatives including musicians Travis Tritt and Kid Rock. The controversy appears to have impacted sales, with Bud Light cases down 10.7% for the week ended April 8, according to Beer Business Daily.
Heinerscheid was dragged into the controversy when remarks she had made about changing Bud Light’s marketing in a podcast surfaced in news reports about the Mulvaney post. In the podcast, which was recorded before the controversy, Heinerscheid denounced Bud Light’s previous marketing as “fratty” and “out of touch” and suggested the brand could use more inclusivity.
According to a statement from City Distributors, a Topeka, Kans.-based Anheuser-Busich distributor, the custom can decision “circumvented the proper approval channels.”
Anheuser-Busch was silent on the matter for two weeks before issuing a statement on April 14 from CEO Brendan Whitworth, who wrote that “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”