TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A bar and restaurant in Central Florida pulled Bud Light from its taps following the company’s controversial promotion of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In a lengthy statement posted to Facebook, the restaurant said it received negative attention from the community and media following a comment written by an alleged customer who claimed the manager told staff “We don’t sell [expletive] beer,” while discarding bottles in the trash.
“This was posted on a personal [Facebook] account that has since been deleted but continues to be recycled by outlets with differing views than ours,” the restaurant said in the statement. “I can assure you, our patrons and employees… this post is not true and not remotely characteristic of who we are.”
That said, the restaurant admitted it would stop serving the bubbly beverage, pointing to the company’s “direct opposition” to their Biblical faith.
“There is no judgment in our hearts concerning those who believe in these rapidly changing social values,” the statement said. “Our decision was made with many tears for this circumstance and what we see as corporate greed and a deeper spiritual reality coming upon this world.”
Many on the right, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have sided with consumers boycotting the beer maker.
“Corporate America is trying to change our country, trying to change policy, trying to change culture,” DeSantis said in an interview with political commentator Benny Johnson. “I’d rather be governed by ‘We the People’ than woke companies.”
“I get it, these are the times we are in,” the restaurant continued in its statement, “there is a divide growing deeper and angrier over this and many other issues.”
The restaurant said its plans are subject to change as the situation develops.