Full report
Bud Light is graded D because of one MAJOR item: its April 1, 2023 paid partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, including a Bud Light can printed with Mulvaney's face (CBS News). Without the cap, its score would be 92, a B.
A serious (MAJOR) finding caps the score at 83, a D. Without the cap, Bud Light would score 92 (100 minus its 8 points). See How We Rate.
Points deducted by category
- DEI hiring, pay & suppliers: 0/15 points deducted
- Internal policies & benefits: 0/10 points deducted
- Free speech, debanking, deplatforming & anti-military/anti-American conduct: 0/15 points deducted
- Political giving (PAC, treasury, leadership): 0/10 points deducted
- Advocacy, lobbying & public statements: 0/15 points deducted
- Marketing, products & content: 13.5/10 points deducted (cap 10; MAJOR items are not limited by the cap)
- Bud Light paid partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney: Mulvaney's Instagram video of Apr 1, 2023, tagged "#budlightpartner," promoted Bud Light's March Madness "#EasyCarryContest" ($15,000 prize) and showed a Bud Light can printed with Mulvaney's face marking "365 days of girlhood." Anheuser-Busch spokesperson statement (quoted verbatim by CBS News and Fox News, Apr 2023): "Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics. From time to time we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public." Uses the Bud Light brand's own channels and money, so it scores on the brand. (source)
- Reversal: Withdrew sponsorship of San Francisco Pride (Guardian, Mar 18, 2025) and of St. Louis PrideFest (St. Louis Public Radio, Mar 25, 2025: https://www.stlpr.org/culture-history/2025-03-25/anheuser-busch-pulls-support-pridefest-after-30-years). (source)
- Bud Light release (May 30, 2022): Bud Light "will also bring its popular Rainbow aluminum bottles to the market," on sale nationwide from May 30 "throughout the month of June," plus a $200,000 donation to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Earlier-year Pride product campaign. (source)
- Charitable & activist funding: 1.5/10 points deducted
- Bud Light release (PR Newswire, May 3, 2019): rainbow bottles for World Pride "benefitting GLAAD"; "For every case of rainbow bottles sold from May 27 to June 30, Bud Light will donate $1 to GLAAD, up to $150,000," described as "the latest effort in a 20-year partnership between Bud Light and GLAAD." GLAAD is on the Activist-Group List. (source)
- ESG, activist investing & industry/regional boycotts: 0/10 points deducted
- China & foreign-adversary ties: 0/5 points deducted
- Election & voting-law activism: 0/10 points deducted
- Border & immigration enforcement: 0/10 points deducted
- Faith, family & children: 0/10 points deducted
- Climate & anti-fossil-fuel advocacy: 0/10 points deducted
- Second Amendment & lawful-firearms commerce: 0/10 points deducted
- Government-coordinated content moderation: 0/10 points deducted
- Abortion advocacy, benefits & funding: 0/10 points deducted
- American Workers & H-1B Displacement: 0/10 points deducted
Final verdict: Grade D
Grades run A (best) to F (worst) on a 0–100 scale, where a higher score is better: every company starts at 100 and loses points for each finding. Every finding links to its source. See how we rate for the scale and the category caps. Points from MAJOR items are not limited by the category cap, so a category can show more points deducted than its cap.