Kid Rock told Joe Rogan that the viral moment of him shooting cases of Bud Light with a gun over the beer company’s decision to partner with a transgender influencer was like a “tantrum with a machine gun.”
“So what’s it like being the dude who took out Bud Light?” Rogan asked the musician on his podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
“Man, I was just having fun, to be honest with you,” Rock explained. “I was pissed, but it wasn’t like it was going to wreck my day, let alone my life. I was just kind of like, ‘What the f–k are they doing?’”
On April 1, 2023, trans TikToker Dylan Mulvaney posted a video about Bud Light as part of its promotional March Madness campaign. Days later, Rock responded to the collaboration on social media, saying, “f–k Bud Light and f–k Anheuser-Busch.”
Rock also said he doesn’t think he was the “pied piper” of the outcry, but does feel he was the “face” of it.
“Throwing a tantrum with a machine gun? ‘Wah, wah, they wanna let guys play in girls’ sports, wah,’” Rock said, who then mimicked the sounds of an automatic weapon. Since the issue, Rock said that he’s become friends with Bud Light CEO Brendan Whitworth, as the two have partied together.
“We’ve become friends. He’s a great guy. After five minutes of talking to him,” Rock said. He conjured up the strength to go chat with Whitworth after shooting it past former president Donald Trump while at a UFC event in 2023. “I’m like, ‘Dude, you seem like somebody I’d f–kin’ be friends with, that I’d hang out with.’ And he’s like, ‘You would, that’s what I’m sayin’.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, come to Nashville, come visit me.’ F–kin’ did! Came with his top team … we broke bread, got f–ked up on Bud Light, f–kin’ bowled, did all this fun s–t.”
As Rock closed up his discussion about the topic, he said he and Whitworth had a good conversation about ways he could potentially do business with Bud Light, but he ultimately declined because he doesn’t want to sacrifice changing his brand or image for a deal. However, the two “still talk” and he holds no grudges against the company.
Meanwhile, Mulvaney also addressed the controversy in June 2023. “For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all,” she shared on TikTok.
Leave a Reply