A trans comedian who briefly appeared in a less-buzzed about Bud Light ad during a Super Bowl — which promoted gender equity — slammed the beer maker’s parent company for its handling of the Dylan Mulvaney controversy.
Ian Harvie, a 54-year-old actor who transitioned from a woman in his 20s, was cast in the Super Bowl ad that aired seven years ago and starred Seth Rogan and Amy Schumer touting an all-inclusive “Bud Light Party.”
“The Bud Light Party is going to address the issues that matter,” Rogan says while at a podium with Schumer. “It’s a party for everyone — men, women, people of all genders.”
“But, you know, gender identity, it’s really a spectrum,” Schumer said. “We don’t need these labels.”
During the 30-second ad, the camera pans to a crowd shot that includes the bearded Harvey hoisting a blue Bud Light in a toast to the sentiment.
The Super Bowl didn’t ignite the kind of firestorm the Anheuser Bush is now facing, as calls for a Bud Light boycott has caused sales of the nation’s top-selling beer to nosedive.
Harvie said he wasn’t surprised the beer giant is backing away from its tie-up with Mulvaney, who has more than 10 million followers on TikTok.
“It’s not about diversity, it’s about dollars,” Harvie said in an interview with Ad Age published Wednesday. “They looked at [Mulvaney’s] socials and just said, ‘You know what? Here’s a topic that’s hot right now. Why don’t we pay this person to do a promotion?’”
He told Ad Age that he thought the Super Bowl ad was money-oriented — despite its positive message — rather than genuine support for the trans community.
“I don’t believe in the allyship of Anheuser-Busch,” Harvie said. “It is disturbing that there’s no statement of support [for Mulvaney].”
“They should have doubled down. They should have said, ‘You think it’s offensive to have a trans person promoting Bud Light? Well, here’s 10 more,’” he added.
That doesn’t seem likely.
On Thursday, Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris disavowed the company’s ties to the transgender influencer as sales of Bud Light have fallen 21% compared to a year ago.
“We need to clarify the facts that this was one camp, one influencer, one post and not a campaign,” Doukeris told investors during an earnings call.
He went on to decry the “misinformation” spread on social media after Mulvaney last month posted a photo with a Bud Light while in a bathtub on TikTok.
Doukeris said the company was “providing direct financial support” to delivery drivers, wholesalers, and bar owners who were impacted by the backlash.
The controversy also prompted Bud Light to place two marketing executives — Alissa Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing, and her boss, Daniel Blake — on leave.
Harvey believes one of the reasons the Mulvaney outcry has been so intense compared to when he appeared in the Bud Light spot was because “transphobic responses are so much more visceral around trans women than trans men.”
He also said that people probably wouldn’t have even realized he was trans when watching the commercial, which was the only one he appeared in during his 20-plus-year career.
“I think people would have a hard time going, ‘Wait, who’s the person I’m supposed to hate here?’” he said.
He also said that the controversy surrounding Mulvaney and Bud Light is not about the beer, but about the larger issue of trans rights.
“The truth is that Kid Rock and his followers are still going to drink it,” he said to Ad Age. “They’re going to scream about it, but they’ll keep drinking it. It doesn’t change the taste or the price point for them. They’re not microbrew-heads.”
“Even though we’re hearing the loud voices and the guns of people shooting up f**king Bud Light cans, what I’m hoping we’re going to learn this next election cycle — and I do have hope — is that anti-trans sentiments and hatred and legislation are actually very unpopular with people,” Harvie said.
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