Kid Rock Reveals He and Trump Confronted Anheuser-Busch CEO at UFC Event on Saturday
A rock star’s complicated history with the beleaguered beer brand Bud Light took another twist after a happenstance meeting at UFC 295 in New York City.
The UFC pay-per-view event, which took place Saturday, was as notable for what happened outside the octagon as much as what happened inside of it.
That was largely due to the rock-star-like presence of former President Donald Trump, who received a big welcome at the event when he showed up alongside former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, UFC President Dana White and music legend Kid Rock.
While the presence of documented fight fan Trump at UFC 295 was hardly surprising, Kid Rock shared an anecdote on Wednesday night’s episode of Fox News host Sean Hannity’s eponymous show that many probably would construe as somewhat surprising.
“I’m standing there with our favorite president,” he began. “And someone comes over and they’re like, ‘The CEO of Anheuser Busch is standing right behind you.’
“So I go to [Trump], I’m like, ‘That’s the CEO of Anheuser Busch,’ and Trump’s like, ‘You want to go talk to him?’
“And I’m like, ‘I do.'”
Of course, Bud Light and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, are still struggling following pushback from conservatives in reaction to the beer maker’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney back in April.
Kid Rock became one of the most iconic faces of this pushback when he shared a video on social media in which he destroyed several cases of Bud Light in the immediate aftermath of the Mulvaney controversy.
WARNING: The following video contains language that some viewers may find offensive
— KidRock (@KidRock) April 4, 2023
So what exactly does a man who would do that to a company’s product have to say to the man who helps spearhead said company product?
Kid Rock and Brendan Whitworth, CEO of AB InBev’s North America Zone, apparently had “a great conversation.”
“If you put this in context, why did this start?” he told Hannity. “You know, I told [the CEO] that night, ‘You signaled to a lot of people like myself, [and] like-minded people … put the trans thing aside for a moment, alright?
“‘By sending that can to the trans kid, you’ve kinda signaled to us that you support this lifestyle and more importantly, men being in women’s sports and being in my granddaughter’s locker room.
“‘Most of us draw a hard line right there.'”
Indeed, Bud Light offended large swathes of its customer base when it sent a commemorative can to Mulvaney. However, some critics may ask Kid Rock just how “hard” of a line he has, given subsequent controversies surrounding the Michigan rocker.
In July, he came under fire when it was discovered that one of his bars was selling Bud Light.
In August, Kid Rock again came under scrutiny when he was spotted personally drinking a can of Bud Light at a concert.
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