Bud Light’s vice president of marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, has reportedly taken a leave of absence and will be replaced. The news comes after the company came under fire for partnering with a transgender influencer.
Budweiser Global Marketing Vice President Todd Allen will take Heinerscheid’s place, according to Ad Age.
In early April, Bud Light and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch, came under fire after transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney announced a partnership with the brand. In a video posted to Instagram, Mulvaney sipped a Bud Light and revealed a special can the company made featuring her face.
“This month, I celebrated my day 365 of womanhood, and Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever: a can with my face on it,” Mulvaney shared. Another clip shared on her Instagram story showed Mulvaney in a bathtub, sipping Bud Light while waiting on hold with customer service, reminiscent of the brand’s 2023 Super Bowl ad.
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The news of the Bud Light’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney caused some artists to announce that they were boycotting the beer. Kid Rock was the first to make waves online by posting a video of himself opening fire on a stack of Bud Light cases.
Country stars Travis Tritt and John Rich followed suit by responding to Anheuser-Busch online with statements of their own.
Other artists who are deleting Anheuser-Busch products from their hospitality rider might not say so in public for fear of being ridiculed and cancelled. I have no such fear. https://t.co/YgjO9P03tR
— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 6, 2023
Instead of tossing #Budlight out of my bar @rnrbarnash when the story broke, I gave it a week to let my customers decide. Well, they spoke. Bud Light went from our #1 selling beer to flatlining in sales. My current inventory of Bud will be skunk before it’s depleted. Case closed.
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) April 12, 2023
Singers Brantley Gilbert and Riley Green revealed where they stood during concerts last weekend. A video showing Gilbert hurling a can of Bud Light onto the stage went viral. And another video showing Green changing lyrics to one of his hit songs to say “Coors Light” instead of “Bud Light” went viral as well.
The call for a Bud Light boycott had major implications for the company who has seen stocks tumble in recent weeks.