Dana White has defended his decision to partner the UFC with Bud Light. The brand returns as the promotion's official beer after the two sides originally parted ways in 2019. "Everybody on every side of this deal that were involved -- other beer companies and everything else -- absolutely, positively knows that this was not about money for me. We were going to end up with money no matter who we ended up with," White said. Furthermore, he said it was "f-cking stupid" for people to say it was just about the money. He argued that all sponsorships are about money.
Bud Light has been the target of right-wing outrage for most of the year. It follows the brand's decision to partner transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. That led to many right-wing individuals saying they were going to boycott the beer. This in turn led to wild inflated claims as to how much money Amherser-Busch reportedly lost over the deal. At most, Bud Light saw a year-on-year decrease of around 10% during the second quarter of 2023. However, the brand remains one of America's top beer products.
Kid Rock Seen Enjoying Bud Light
However, the UFC is not the only right-leaning property to be seen enjoying the beer. Musician Kid Rock was spotted enjoying a Bud Light while attending a concert in August. This was in spite of Rock being one of the loudest voices calling for a boycott. Numerous photos showed the ex-husband of Pamela Anderson holding onto the familiar tall blue can while wearing one of his signature hats at a Colt Ford show in Nashville.
Many people jokingly referred to Rock as a "hypocrite". However, there was a very different reaction occurring amongst his right-wing compatriots. Those who politically aligned with Rock scrambled to his defense, stating that the pictures were fake and an intentional attack on Rock. "Actually he was drinking Coors Light can. This is a lie someone altered it," one right-wing account claimed. Meanwhile, other right-wingers tried to claim that they "always suspected" that Rock was a secret liberal trying to be MAGA for the clout.
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