• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind

2

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

3

Scott Bessent casually says the U.S. has more than $1 trillion in gold—and that it doesn’t matter for the dollar

1

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind

2

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

3

Scott Bessent casually says the U.S. has more than $1 trillion in gold—and that it doesn’t matter for the dollar
FinanceBud Light

Bud Light dethroned as America’s favorite beer despite support from country music legend Garth Brooks 

Christiaan Hetzner
By
Christiaan Hetzner
Christiaan Hetzner
Senior Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
Christiaan Hetzner
By
Christiaan Hetzner
Christiaan Hetzner
Senior Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 14, 2023, 10:35 AM ET
Garth Brooks came out in support of Bud Light during Pride Month.
Garth Brooks came out in support of Bud Light during Pride Month, but that didn’t stop sales of the lager from plummeting in May.Jason Kempin—Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Not even Garth Brooks can seem to help Bud Light at this point, but that didn’t stop the country music icon from trying. 

Recommended Video

Despite the celebrity bar owner openly endorsing the lager and its message of inclusiveness at his Nashville honky-tonk last week, it is no longer America’s favorite beer, following a boycott that has decimated sales.

Voting with their wallets, conservatives continued to give the Anheuser-Busch brand a wide berth in May after it paid a transgender influencer to promote the brand on social media. In the process, the crown ironically passed to a rival from south of the border.

In the four weeks that ended on June 3, Mexico’s Modelo Especial captured 8.4% of U.S. retail-store beer sales, eclipsing the 7.3% share of Bud Light, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by consulting firm Bump Williams cited by the Wall Street Journal. 

The collapse in demand, while considerable, was not a surprise given recent trends.

Amid the controversy over the Dylan Mulvaney Instagram post that sparked the backlash, Brooks said his “Friends in Low Places” establishment located in the heart of Nashville would not partake in the boycott.

“I want it to be a place you feel like there are manners and people love one another—I think that’s a cool place. And yes, we’re going to serve every brand of beer,” he told Billboard Country Live Q&A last week. “Our thing is this: If you come into this house, love one another. If you’re an a******, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway to go.” 

After his remarks angered a number of fans, Brooks on Monday responded unapologetically to threats they would burn his records. Rather than playing his comments down, like Bud Light’s parent company appeared to do, he leaned into them.

Garth has been an advocate for civil rights for decades. Don’t let him being a giant of country music fool you. Remember “We Can Be Free”…he wrote that civil rights anthem after the LA riots…Brooks was cut out of the Super Bowl in ’93 because https://t.co/DVe8cjEFH2

— Ameshia Cross (@AmeshiaCross) June 10, 2023

“Inclusiveness is always going to be me, I think diversity is the answer to the problems that are here and the answer to the problems that are coming, so I love diversity,” he said in a message posted on Facebook.

Responding to a request from Fortune, a spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch said: “For the year, Bud Light remains the No. 1 brand in the U.S. nationally in volume and dollar sales.”

Poll shows transgender support is on the wane

Bud Light’s promotion with Mulvaney unwittingly made it the focal point of the hyper-politicized transgender debate in America. 

Even though voters do not consider LGBTQ+ rights to be a key priority when compared with immigration or women’s reproductive rights, it has become a wedge issue driving a fault line clean through society. The beginning of Pride Month on June 1 has only brought that further to the fore. 

According to a Gallup poll published on Monday, tolerance for transgender people, such as social media influencer Mulvaney, has declined over the past two years.

Whereas 46% of all Americans believed it was morally acceptable to change one’s gender two years ago, that figure has now declined to 43% reflecting a loss in support among middle-of-the-road independents. A clear 55% majority of Americans surveyed now consider it to be wrong, although most identifying as Democrats would disagree. 

This updates a previous version of the story with a comment from Anheuser-Busch.

About the Author
Christiaan Hetzner
By Christiaan HetznerSenior Reporter
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Christiaan Hetzner is a former writer for Fortune, where he covered Europe’s changing business landscape.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Finance

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump sit in the Oval Office.
Economynational debt
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it’s still worse somehow
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 23, 2026
50 minutes ago
Current price of gold as of July 23, 2026
Personal Financegold prices
Current price of gold as of July 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJuly 23, 2026
3 hours ago
MoonPay launches universal AI shopping wallet for non-technical Claude and ChatGPT consumers
CryptoAI agents
MoonPay launches universal AI shopping wallet for non-technical Claude and ChatGPT consumers
By Jeff John RobertsJuly 23, 2026
3 hours ago
AI coding company Cursor, soon to be acquired by SpaceX, expands its CFO council
NewslettersCFO Daily
AI coding company Cursor, soon to be acquired by SpaceX, expands its CFO council
By Sheryl EstradaJuly 23, 2026
4 hours ago
ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott pumping his fist.
AIServiceNow
Wall Street is finally starting to buy ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott’s story as the company beats Q2 earnings forecasts
By Jeremy KahnJuly 23, 2026
4 hours ago
Members of KAIO and Mubadala Capital stand side by side smiling at the camera.
CryptoCoinbase
Coinbase invests in tokenized version of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund 
By Camila Grigera NaónJuly 23, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
Real Estate
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 22, 2026
23 hours ago
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
3 days ago
Scott Bessent casually says the U.S. has more than $1 trillion in gold—and that it doesn’t matter for the dollar
Economy
Scott Bessent casually says the U.S. has more than $1 trillion in gold—and that it doesn’t matter for the dollar
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 22, 2026
21 hours ago
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
AI
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
By Eva RoytburgJuly 21, 2026
2 days ago
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
Success
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
By Emma BurleighJuly 21, 2026
2 days ago
'The man who dies rich dies disgraced': The last time America had such wealth inequality, Andrew Carnegie knew he had to give it all away
Success
'The man who dies rich dies disgraced': The last time America had such wealth inequality, Andrew Carnegie knew he had to give it all away
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 22, 2026
23 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.