After he pulled Bud Light from all Orlando locations, Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar owner told Fox News the brand’s partnership with a trans influencer has caused “hell on Earth.”
Joe Penovich confirmed the Orlando restaurants will no longer serve Bud Light after its parent company Anheuser-Busch worked with Dylan Mulvaney, trans activist and TikTok influencer. The company is experiencing widespread backlash for sending Mulvaney a tallboy Bud Light can with her face on it to promote a sweepstakes contest.
“It is true we made the decision to remove Bud Light because of their support of something that is in direct opposition to our Biblical faith [but] There is no judgement in our heart concerning those who believe in these rapidly changing social values,” Penovich wrote in a Facebook post.
Now, Penovich is taking his aversion to inclusion one step forward — and this time, on national television.
“Anheuser-Busch held a social knife over all of our heads here, and they dropped it very irresponsibly,” Penovich said on Fox Business.
He said the past two weeks have been the most difficult “we’ve ever experienced in our life.”
“By standing on our biblical faith, it put us at odds with other people that didn’t take that stance,” Penovich said. “And that brought us into hell on Earth.”
Florida restaurant owner says on Fox Business that Bud Light partnering with a trans person has led to “the most difficult two weeks we’ve ever experienced in our life.” pic.twitter.com/w50FvPqxus
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 25, 2023
Bud Light’s president placed two executives responsible who oversaw the partnership, the company told the Wall Street Journal Sunday.
The decision to go on leave “wasn’t voluntary” on the two executives’ parts, the Wall Street Journal reported.