Musician Kid Rock discussed Monday his reaction to Bud Light’s hiring of a transgender influencer for an ad with Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson, stating he believes it’s time to “move on.”
Rock appeared on Carlson’s Twitter show to discuss his thoughts on the current political climate as well as his viral reaction to Bud Light’s hiring of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a promotion ad on Instagram.
Carlson asked the musician how he was able to respond “so fast” to the situation, noting there was a lot of information “going on” after the release of Mulvaney’s ad. Rock responded by stating while it was an “excuse” to get out his machine gun, he wanted the company to know it wasn’t “cool.” (RELATED: ‘F You Guys’: Kid Rock Says He Confronted Anheuser-Busch CEO At UFC Fight)
Rock additionally noted he believed the issues started when Bud Light moved “part of their corporate offices” from St. Louis to New York City in 2014, highlighting “Ivy League progressives” then took over.
“It’s like a lot of people, just pissed me off … I keep a lot of beer on the property, a lot of light beer — BudLight was one of them. And I was like, I know who my consumers are … It was spot on for me, but also a fun excuse to get my machine gun out and have some fun. But also to make a statement like, ‘Hey, a lot of us aren’t cool with this,'” Rock stated.
“You know I believe a lot of people fought and died for people’s right to be whoever they want. But when you’re that type of brand, you know who your consumers are. You know how this kinda started I think? I thought about it — so they moved part of their corporate offices from St. Louis to New York City, okay?”
Ep. 48 The Tucker Carlson Encounter: Kid Rock pic.twitter.com/g9wLg1zlvu
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 11, 2023
“Then they start hiring these Ivy League progressives, you know, people to work for ’em who don’t know sh*t about working class people or middle America in this country. And so somebody wasn’t watching the henhouse. They’re riding high and mighty as number one and a fox gets in,” Rock continued.
The musician continued to state that while the company made a “mistake” and their “crime” doesn’t fit their “punishment,” he emphasized we’ve moved on from worse issues. (RELATED: Kid Rock And Jason Aldean Among Top Stars Performing At Rock The Country Festival)
“Yes, it was a mistake. Do I want to hold their head underwater and down them because they made a mistake? No, I think they got the message. Like, hopefully, other companies get it too, but, you know, at the end of the day I don’t think the punishment that they’ve been getting at this point fits the crime. It’s like I would like to see people get us back on board and become bigger because that’s the America I want to live in,” Rock stated.
“Well, it’s better to improve than destroy. So that seems like a win,” Carlson stated.
“Like it’s not wrong with giving a spanking. You know, the kid does something wrong … maybe he’s going to harm themselves, but you don’t spank them for the rest of their life,” Rock stated. “Someone gets taught a lesson they say ‘we made a mistake.’ Alright man, let’s move on. I mean we’ve done it for a whole lot worse. What about Japan? Germany?” Rock questioned.
Mulvaney posted a social media ad for the beer company April 1, joining in on part of the March Madness promotions, according to NBC News. However, the video quickly received backlash from conservatives, which ended up costing the company to lose an estimated $27 billion in market value since the incident, according to The Hill.
Following Mulvaney’s ad, Rock went viral for posting a video where he used his machine gun to destroy a box of Bud Light beer, stating “F*ck Bud Light, and f*ck Anheuser-Busch.” He also recently confronted the CEO of Anheuser-Busch at a New York UFC fight in early November, claiming he had a “great conversation” expressing his views on the situation.