Dylan Mulvaney shrugs off Bud Light controversy as Anheuser-Bush loses $27 BILLION in market value

Dylan Mulvaney shrugged off the Bud Light controversy at the musical, ‘Transparent’ as Anheuser-Bush is seen losing a staggering $27 billion in market value. 

The brewing giant decided to use Mulvaney, 26, for its March Madness campaign when the influencer posted the now-infamous promo when the brand sent her a personalized beer can to celebrate ‘365 Days of Girlhood.’

Mulvaney stepped out for the opening night performance of the musical on Wednesday night at the Center Theater Group’s Mark Taper Forum in downtown Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old social media star was seen with her hair slicked back and wearing a glamorous metallic pink floor length dress with a heart shape cut out in the chest.

While Mulvaney enjoyed a night of culture – AB InBev’s market capitalization has had a staggering fall off the back of their partnership with the 26-year-old. 

Down more than $27 billion from the $134.55 billion value of the company (March 31), its market capitalization fell to $107.44 billion through the end of May, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group.

Dylan Mulvaney shrugged off the Bud Light controversy at the musical, ‘Transparent’ as Anheuser-Bush loses a staggering $27 billion in market value

The stock is down 19.98 percent from its recent March high, hitting an official bear market – which is a 20 percent drop. May was the third-worst month on record for the company’s shares.

Sales of Bud Light have also plummeted 25.7 percent for the week ending May 20 – compared to that of a year ago, according to Bump Williams Consulting .

It is the steepest drop in sales since the Mulvaney controversy, with Bud Light dropping 24.3 percent from April 1 to May 20.

Anheuser-Busch said early May it would triple its marketing spending in the US this summer as it tries to boost ailing sales.

The marketing decision appears to be one of the worst in American history to come from an advertising backlash.

Vice President Alissa Heinerscheid took a leave of absence earlier this year following the controversy around the brewing giant’s decision to use Mulvaney.

Heinerscheid, 39, was not the only one to step down after the backlash which created the biggest corporate disaster in a decade – as the VP for Mainstream Brands, Daniel Blake, also removed himself from his role.

But their sudden departure appears premature after bosses said the decision to work with Mulvaney was made by an ‘outside agency without management awareness or approval.’

When approached by DailyMail.com regarding claims that she had no idea of the campaign, Heinerscheid declined to comment – but a friend said: ‘she’s not supposed to talk about it, she can’t’, before being whisked away.

It is unclear if Heinerscheid, who was seen close to her $8million apartment near Central Park, is on paid leave from the company, but she joined in 2022 and vowed to freshen up its image.

Vice President Alissa Heinerscheid's job was taken over by Todd Allen, who recently served as global vice president of Budweiser

Vice President Alissa Heinerscheid’s job was taken over by Todd Allen, who recently served as global vice president of Budweiser

Vice President Alissa Heinerscheid (left)  took a leave of absence earlier this year following the controversy around the brewing giant's decision to use Mulvaney

When approached by DailyMail.com regarding claims that she had no idea of the campaign, Heinerscheid (left) declined to comment ¿ but a friend said: 'she can't talk about it', before being whisked away

When approached by DailyMail.com regarding claims that she had no idea of the campaign, Heinerscheid (left) declined to comment – but a friend said: ‘she can’t talk about it’, before being whisked away

Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch has lost $27 billion in market value after its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney

Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch has lost $27 billion in market value after its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney 

On March 30, Heinerscheid gave an interview to a business podcast in which she said she wanted to make Bud Light less ‘fratty’ and more ‘inclusive’.

Two days later, on April 1, Mulvaney – who began transitioning to a woman in 2021 – was unveiled as a brand partner.

The firm said both Heinerscheid and Blake ‘decided’ to temporarily step down, but their decisions were reportedly not voluntary. 

‘Given the circumstances, Alissa has decided to take a leave of absence which we support. Daniel has also decided to take a leave of absence,’ the company said.

Heinerscheid’s job was taken over by Todd Allen, who recently served as global vice president of Budweiser. 

The specifics of how the can fiasco erupted remain under wraps, though the boycott continues to affect sales and market value of the tarnished brand.

The company has been forced to give ‘financial help’ to the frontline workers impacted by the boycott, according to a statement made by global CEO Michel Doukeris. 

Only J.C. Penney has beaten Anheuser-Bush and saw their shares plummet more than 25 per cent in 2012 after featuring a lesbian couple and their daughter in an advertisement.

They also hired Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson and ultimately fired their then-CEO Ron Johnsons, who defended the move.

Since April 1, the company has consistently been dropping down the rankings, with experts saying it ‘just keeps getting a little worse each week’.

But their competitors have added $3.2billion in market value to their brands in the same time.

Daniel Blake, who is the vice president for Anheuser-Busch's mainstream brands also stepped back from his job

Daniel Blake, who is the vice president for Anheuser-Busch’s mainstream brands also stepped back from his job

For the week ended May 20, Bud Light sales were down 25.7% from the same week a year ago

For the week ended May 20, Bud Light sales were down 25.7% from the same week a year ago

Molson Coors, which owns Coors Lite, has seen an increase of $2.2billion market value, around 20 percent, while Heineken has a spike of $1billion – an increase of 1.7 percent.

Many conservative famous faces swiftly dropped Bud Light after they linked up with Mulvaney, with Kid Rock shooting at several cases of the beer and saying ‘f*** Bud Light, and f*** Anheuser-Busch. Have a terrific day.’ 

Her posts saw musician Kid Rock pull the beers from his bar, and country singers John Rich and Travis Tritt both publicly denouncing the band. 

Analysts at HSBC even downgraded Anheuser-Busch’s stock because it is in the midst of a ‘crisis’ over the marketing blunder.

Carlos Laboy, a managing director at HSBC’s global beverage sector, downgraded the stock of Anheuser-Busch InBev to a hold status. It means that investors should not buy or sell shares of the company.

He said that the backlash is a sign there are ‘deeper problems than ABI admits’, questioning if it was ‘hiring the best people to grow the brands and gauge risk.’

After Anheuser-Busch tried to distance itself from the Mulvaney promotion, Bud Light also faced backlash from the opposite direction, with pro-LGBTQ groups accusing the company of abandoning the transgender influencer.

Still, Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris has downplayed the impact of the backlash, saying Bud Light’s US sales declines in the first three weeks of April represented only 1 percent of InBev’s global volumes.

‘We believe we have the experience, the resources and the partners to manage this,’ Doukeris said during a conference call with investors early May.

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