AUSTIN, TEXAS: The boycott of Bud Light spurred by the brand's connection with Dylan Mulvaney has split two of the podcasting world's biggest stars. Megyn Kelly blasted Joe Rogan on Thursday, August 4 for sipping the Anheuser-Busch beer on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast earlier this week.
On Tuesday, August 1 Rogan popped open a can of Bud Light and raised a glass to his guest, country music artist Zach Bryan, who agreed with the host that the ongoing reaction against the brand, which has severely harmed its sales, amounted to "silliness."
'This is the second time he’s done this'
Kelly chastised Rogan for drinking Bud Light beer. "Joe Rogan [is] on the wrong side of this one — popping open a Bud Light, dismissing the whole controversy," Kelly remarked on SiriusXM's 'The Megyn Kelly Show.' “This is the second time he’s done this…[He’s] not getting," she added.
Kelly agreed with her guest, conservative pundit and author Andrew Klavan, saying the boycott was motivated by the awareness of the "transgender movement as an attack on femininity and femaleness, which is exactly what it is." Kelly expressed her delight at seeing Anheuser-Busch pay a financial penalty for its Mulvaney connection. During the second quarter, the Anheuser-Busch InBev group reported a 10.5 per cent reduction in revenue and a roughly 30 per cent drop in core profit in the United States.
Its value has dropped by over $40 billion. "I'm enjoying watching them suffer, not gonna lie," Kelly admitted, adding that it was "too late" to preserve the company. She claimed that Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth lacked genuine contrition. "The CEO of Anheuser Busch, he's not sorry at all," Kelly explained.
She went on to say, "He's only sorry that it turned into a controversy for him. Most of us wouldn't be caught dead having a Bud Light now for very good reason. It endorses a whole set of values that we do not support."
'We’re drinking Bud Light, ladies and gentlemen'
On Tuesday, Rogan provoked outrage by ripping open a can of Bud Light during his podcast. "We're drinking Bud Light, ladies and gentlemen," Rogan announced at the very beginning of the three-hour show.
Rogan apologized sarcastically, anticipating the wrath of his many conservative-leaning listeners. "Sooooorry," he sighed. "People are silly," Rogan added. Bryan, who faced blowback after defending Bud Light and Mulvaney on social media, also commented on the expected reaction, saying, "We're f**ked." "There's nothing wrong with it," responded the podcaster and MMA commentator, whose podcast has an estimated 11 million listeners.
A Twitter user shared Rogan's clip writing, "Why does @joerogan pretend to not know what the budlight boycott is really about? He’s openly against Dylan mulvany and the destructive influence he has on kids but still “drinks” budlight. @joerogan is scared to fully take a side in the culture war."
