STORY: Bud Light is no longer the best-selling beer in America.
Sales dropped nearly 25% in May, knocking the beverage to the Number 2 spot behind new beer champ Modelo Especial.
That’s according to Nielsen data analyzed by consulting firm Bump Williams.
Bud Light’s tumble comes after the brand was caught in the crosshairs of the culture wars, with sales slumping after a social media promotion in April with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Conservatives called for a Bud Light boycott, leading parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev to place two marketing executives on leave – a move that angered liberals who believed the company had caved to outside political pressures.
The controversy widened to include country music star Garth Brooks, who was criticized by some conservatives on social media after saying at an awards show that his new bar in Nashville would continue to sell Bud Light.
Brooks responded on his livestream show by saying (quote) “Everybody’s got their opinions. But inclusiveness is always going to be me.”
In the meantime, sales of Modelo Especial, owned by Constellation Brands, rose more than 10% in May, pushing it to the top spot.
Shares of Constellation were flat in Wednesday trading, while Anheuser-Busch was up more than 2%.
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