A major LGBT advocacy organization demoted Anheuser-Busch on its “Corporate Equity Index” in retaliation to the beer giant’s response following the backlash over its partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The Human Rights Campaign, whose Corporate Equality Index judges companies on their friendliness to the LGBT community, informed Anheuser-Busch in a letter obtained by USA Today that it would be removing its perfect 100 rating.
“Anheuser-Busch had a key moment to really stand up and demonstrate the importance of their values of diversity, equity and inclusion and their response really fell short,” Eric Bloem, HRC’s senior director, programs and corporate advocacy told USA Today.
Anheuser-Busch previously maxed out all four categories of the LGBT index: protections from workplace discrimination, inclusive benefits, corporate social responsibility and responsible citizenship. As of Friday, however, Anheuser-Busch had points deducted from responsible citizenship, the New York Post reported.
Anheuser-Busch said in an email to USA Today that the company has taken action to foster LGBT solidarity and support in its workforce. “Our ERGs (employee resource groups) are intended to be a safe space for those who identify with a given community and those who wish to be allies,” the spokesperson said.
After the Mulvaney fiasco, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a clarifying statement that repelled some LGBT groups and activists for its conciliatory nature. While conservative critics hardly considered it an apology to the customers the brand alienated with the Mulvaney stunt, some progressive proponents of LGBT activism believed Whitworth’s letter conceded too much.
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” Whitworth wrote. “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer. As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.”
In protest of the Anheuser-Busch response, some gay bars in cities across the country have taken the company’s products off their shelves. Mark Robertson and Mike Sullivan, who own four gay bars on Chicago’s North Side, axed Bud Light and the Chicago-based brew Goose Island from their menus. They told the Chicago Tribune they were upset that Whitworth tried to dodge responsibility for the Mulvaney collaboration in an investor call by claiming it was not an internally-spearheaded idea but a pitch from external advisers.
“When we really need support is when a portion of our community is under direct attack on a day-in and day-out basis, which is what is happening to the transgender community,” Robertson told the publication. “This choice by AB InBev, to cut and run as fast as you can away from the conflict, that’s just not what we see as being truly supportive.”
Anheuser-Busch has incurred massive sales losses since the Mulvaney partnership. In April, Bud Light sales dropped 21.4 percent while Budweiser sales dropped 11.5 percent. Meanwhile, Bud Light’s major competitor Coors Light gained 10.9 percent in sales for the month. In mid May, the financial firm HSBC downgraded the stock of Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) to a “hold” amid growing concerns that backlash against the Mulvaney debacle continues to hamper sales.