Musician Kid Rock, who initially had a full metal reaction to Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney fiasco, thinks it’s time for America to “move on” from punishing the company.
Rock spoke to Tucker Carlson on his X, formerly Twitter, show about his viral reaction to the transgender influencer’s ad for the brand.
“Grandpa’s feeling a little frisky today,” he said in a video posted to his account on April 3.
“Let me, uh, say something to all of you and be as clear and concise as possible.”
Ep. 48 The Tucker Carlson Encounter: Kid Rock pic.twitter.com/g9wLg1zlvu
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 11, 2023
That’s when the “American Badass” singer brought an automatic weapon to his shoulder and used several cases of Bud Light as target practice.
“F–k Bud Light,” he concluded while flicking off the camera. “F–k Anheuser-Busch. Have a terrific day.”
Carlson said that he was shocked how quickly Rock was able to release the video to the public.
Rock stated that the video was dual purpose: To let the beer brand know that celebrating Mulvaney’s “365 days of girlhood” wasn’t “cool,” and to break out his automatic weapon.
“It’s like a lot of people, just pissed me off … I keep a lot of beer on the property, a lot of light beer — BudLight was one of them,” he explained.
Rock said he knows who the consumers of his music are and joked that he was “doing a little marketing” towards them with his video.
— KidRock (@KidRock) April 4, 2023
“It was spot on for me, but also a fun excuse to get my machine gun out and have some fun,” he continued.
“But also to make a statement like, ‘Hey, a lot of us aren’t cool with this.’”
While he acknowledged that while “a lot of people fought and died for people’s right to be whoever they want,” Bud Light should be aware of their main consumer base.
The “Bawitdaba” singer said that the beer company “deserved a black eye and they got one,” for their marketing “mistake.”
He believes the fiasco came to fruition when their corporate offices moved from St. Louis to New York City in 2015.
“Then they start hiring these Ivy League progressives, you know, people to work for ’em who don’t know sh*t about working class people or middle America in this country,” Rock detailed.
“And so somebody wasn’t watching the hen house,” he continued. “They’re riding high and mighty as number one and a fox gets in.”
The “Cowboy” singer does believe that despite not understanding middle America, Bud Light, and by extension parent company Anheuser-Busch, has suffered long enough from the boycott.
“Yes, it was a mistake. Do I want to hold their head underwater and down them because they made a mistake? No, I think they got the message,” he told Carlson.
“Hopefully, other companies get it too, but, you know, at the end of the day I don’t think the punishment that they’ve been getting at this point fits the crime.”
“I would like to see people get us back on board and become bigger because that’s the America I want to live in,” he concluded.
Carlson conceded that it’s “better to improve than destroy,” which “seems like a win” for the company and the nation.
Rock wondered what it would say about the country if consumers boycotted Bud Light to the point of bankruptcy over one bad ad.
“There’s nothing wrong with giving a spanking,” he insisted. “You know, the kid does something wrong … maybe he’s going to harm themselves, but you don’t spank them for the rest of their life.”
“Someone gets taught a lesson they say ‘we made a mistake.’ Alright man, let’s move on,” he concluded.
“I mean we’ve done it for a whole lot worse,” he said in reference to WWII. “What about Japan? Germany?”
“You drop two atom bombs on Japan, then you rebuild it,” Carlson laughed. “Then you become allies.”
Rock noted that it’s the “working class people” who don’t have a “dog in this fight,” that get hurt during boycotts.
He's back. pic.twitter.com/vDwQ5JFKlH
— Tucker Carlson Network (@TCNetwork) December 11, 2023
“Message sent, let’s move on,” he declared. “Here’s a bag of ice, put it on that shiner and let’s talk about it.”
Meanwhile, Carlson just launched his own streaming platform on Monday, which will feature both free and paid streaming video content.
“News coverage in the West has become a tool of repression and control. Reporters no longer reveal essential information to the public; they work to hide it,” Carlson said in a statement.
“Journalists act as censors on behalf of entrenched power. They have contempt for the public. They hate the truth.”