Podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan drank Bud Light beer on his show Wednesday, laughing off a boycott of the brand by conservatives over the company’s trans sponsorship controversy.
"What they’re doing is just spreading the brand to an extra group of people," Rogan said of Bud Light's decision to hire transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney as a spokesperson for the brand. "If something is good, do you give a fuck who’s got it?"
Rogan—who has often criticized the transgender rights movement and other progressive causes—dismissed the beer boycott and offered a cheers to Bud Light "in their time of stress." But the podcaster also gave credit to conservatives like singer Kid Rock, who fired a rifle at cases of Bud Light in protest over the sponsorship move, Mediaite reported.
"I love Kid Rock’s video. Because I love that kind of thinking," Rogan said. "Not even that I agree with it? I like wild people. I like a dude who takes a machine gun to a stack of Bud Lights and is like, ‘Fuck Anheuser-Busch!'"
The podcaster argued that Bud Light’s marketing strategy was not unique and that boycotters have few options among competitors of Bud Light that don't hold similar stances on social issues.
Rogan's heterodox, not to say incoherent, political views have made him a lightning rod for controversy, and not just on the left. In February, Rogan defended Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's infamous anti-Semitic quip that pro-Israel votes in Congress are "all about the Benjamins."
"She’s talking about money," Rogan said of Omar. "It’s not an antisemitic statement, I don’t think that is. Benjamins are money. You know, the idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza. It’s fucking stupid. It’s fucking stupid."
Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, has lost more than $5 billion in value since recruiting Mulvaney.
Mulvaney responded to conservative criticism of Bud Light’s marketing, saying that critics "don’t understand me" and that what the influencer says "gets taken out of context."
Just before Mulvaney became a promoter for the brand, a Bud Light executive said the beer company’s image was "fratty" and "out of touch," stressing the need to "attract young drinkers" with "inclusivity."