Is NASCAR going to cancel its $88m deal with Bud Light over the partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney?

NASCAR began its iconic partnership with Anheuser-Busch in 1979.

Is NASCAR going to cancel its $88m deal with Bud Light over the partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney?

Dylan Mulvaney. Image via Twitter.

Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light’s parent company, has been connected with NASCAR since the 1970s. In 1979 they made a debut in NASCAR at the Daytona 500. Decades later, the brand still has a significant role in the sport. Recently, Anheuser-Busch decided to print transgender influencer and activist Dylan Mulvaney’s face on a can of Bud Light. It was to celebrate her first anniversary since she transitioned. And also as a part of an ad for the company’s March Madness contest.

However, they received a backlash. Bud Light was criticized, and conservatives boycotted the company’s products. They are against the partnership with Dylan Mulvaney. It went overboard as Kid Rock (a musician) fired a gun at Bud Light cans in a video. Mulvaney has a large following on TikTok due to her famous series, 365 Days of Girlhood. Now, there have been claims that Bud Light’s sponsorship with NASCAR might come to an end due to the controversy. 

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It was reported by The Dunning-Kruger Times that NASCAR was ending its $88m deal with Bud Light. The website mentioned “going woke, going broke” is the outcome of the Mulvaney edition cans and that NASCAR plans to end its deal with long-term sponsors Anheuser-Busch. However, this claim is not true. The website notes, “Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.”

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NASCAR has not made any official announcement to end the deal with Bud Light

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Bud Light sponsored car (Image via Autoweek)

NASCAR is not going to cancel its deal with Bud Light. There is no evidence to back the claim. The Dunning-Kruger website is satirical. The content on its platform should not be taken seriously, according to them. NASCAR and Anheuser-Busch have not commented on the claims to end their $88 million deal. However, Bud Light’s action triggered conservative figures. 

Anheuser-Busch, CEO Brendan Whitworth, issued a statement on Friday. He explained that the company never intended to be involved in a discussion that divides people. They want to “bring people together over a beer.” Like any other company, Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers to connect with various audiences. According to Fox News, they create commemorative gift cans to celebrate the personal milestones of their influencers. 

In the wake of this controversy, there was a spike in Google searches if NASCAR dropped Bud Light. However, those rumors have no claim. Anheuser-Busch suffered financial loss during the debacle. The sales of the bottles dropped to 30 percent. The draft beer dropped to 50 percent. The brand is worth over $100 billion. They lost about $5 billion since they announced the partnership with Mulvaney. However, NASCAR has not dropped them. 

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