UFC's Sponsor For White House Fight Night Has Fans Confused

A familiar brand is on display at the White House ahead of tomorrow's UFC Freedom 250 event. Whether it's a welcome sight remains to be seen.

Photos from the White House grounds and the UFC Octagon setup show that the top of the cage is draped with advertising for Bud Light.

Many users on X found it curious that Bud Light would be featured there since the brand has supposedly been boycotted by supporters of President Donald Trump for several years now.

"I thought Bud Light was too woke," one user on X remarked.

"Weren't they spending their money to buy Bud Light cans and then performatively blowing them with guns just a year back???" another asked.

"I thought they canceled bud light for being too woke. I cannot keep up," a third wrote.

"Uh oh. Does this mean Kid Rock wont be in attendance?"

The Boycott

In April 2023, Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender TikTok creator, posted a sponsored social media video promoting Bud Light and showed a commemorative can featuring her image. The partnership was part of a broader influencer-marketing effort by Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, to reach younger consumers. The promotion sparked a backlash among many conservative consumers and commentators, who objected to the company's association with a transgender influencer. The hashtag #BoycottBudLight spread rapidly online, and several public figures publicly criticized the brand.

Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch faced criticism from multiple directions: conservatives accused the company of embracing political activism, while some LGBTQ+ advocates and even Mulvaney later criticized the company for failing to publicly support her after the backlash intensified. In response, Anheuser-Busch attempted to distance itself from the controversy, reorganized parts of its marketing team, and launched efforts to rebuild its customer base.

The boycott had a measurable business impact. Bud Light reportedly suffered significant sales declines throughout 2023.

But after three years, it appears that Bud Light is back in everyone's good graces.

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