Kid Rock Says He & Donald Trump Confronted Anheuser-Busch CEO at UFC Fight
“Only God Knows Why”Kid Rockis still talking about hisfeud with Bud Light, but the inflammatory rap-rocker added more fuel to the fire on Wednesday night.
In an interview with Sean Hannity on his Fox News show, Rock claimed that during his appearance alongside Donald Trump at UFC 295 on Saturday night (Nov. 11), he and the former president confronted Anheuser-Busch’s CEO Brendan Ball Whitworth regarding the company’s flagship brand Bud Light sending a commemorative beer can to trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“So [Trump and I] go over, and we actually had a great conversation [with Whitworth],” Rock said, before relayinga series of anti-trans talking points. “I told him, ‘You signaled to a lot of people like myself … by sending that can to the trans kid, you kind of signaled to us that you support that lifestyle, and more importantly, men being in women’s sports or in my granddaughter’s locker room. Most of us draw a hard line right there.’”
Back in April, Rock made headlines when he posted a video of himself shooting a case of Bud Light after seeing a promotional video posted by Mulvaney showing off a commemorative can of Bud Light bearing her image. “F— Bud Light and f— Anheuser-Busch,” he said in the video.
During his interview with Hannity, Rock said he never called on fans to “boycott or cancel” the brand in the wake of their work with Mulvaney. “I said eff you. What are you doing, injecting yourself into this conversation, these polarizing social issues?” he asked. “You could be doing so much more positive stuff just making us laugh and drink beer.”
The “Devil Without a Cause” singer also claimed that he could “co-exist in public spaces” with transgender and gay people, before sharing a message directly to both communities. “Be yourself. If you’re cool with me, I’m cool with you — that’s how most people are,” he said. “But as soon as you bring our kids into this, that’s where you’re gonna bring hatred into it. Leave our freaking kids out of it. That’s the bottom line.”
The rap-rocker’s comments come amid a nationwide surge of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, largely targeting transgender youth’s access to best-practice gender-affirming care, their ability to participate in school sports aligning with their gender identity, and the open discussion of sexuality and gender in public schools. In tandem with the rise of these bills is a sharp increase in anti-LGBTQ hate crimes, according to the FBI’s recently released annual crime report.
Despite Rock’s claim that the LGBTQ+ community is “bringing our kids into this,”research from The Trevor Projectshows that this wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation contributes to higher rates of suicidality among LGBTQ+ youth.
