A trans comedian who briefly appeared in a less high-profile Super Bowl ad for Bud Light – which promoted gender equality – has criticized the beermaker’s parent company for its handling of the Dylan Mulvaney controversy.
Ian Harvie, a 54-year-old actor turned twenty-something woman, was solid in a Super Bowl commercial that aired seven years ago starring Seth Rogan and Amy Schumer, promoting the all-inclusive “Bud Light Party.”
“The Bud Light party is about solving vital problems,” says Rogan on the podium with Schumer. “It’s a celebration for everybody – men, women, people of all genders.”
“But you already know, gender identity is really a spectrum,” Schumer said. “We do not need these labels.”
During the 30-second commercial, the camera pans to a crowd shot where a bearded Harvey raises a blue Bud Light in a toast to sentiment.
The Super Bowl did not ignite the firestorm Anheuser Bush is now facing, as calls to boycott Bud Light sent sales of the nation’s best-selling beer plummeting.
Harvie said he wasn’t surprised the beer giant was stepping back from its Mulvaney affiliation, which has over 10 million followers on TikTok.
“It isn’t about diversity, it’s about dollars,” Harvie said in an interview with Ad Age published Wednesday. “They looked [Mulvaney’s] social media and I just said, “You already know what? This is a hot topic immediately. Why don’t we pay this person for promotion?”
![Trans comedian and actor Ian Harvie, pictured in the 2016 Super Bowl pro-trans commercial for Bud Light.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000010579079.jpg?w=1024)
He told Ad Age that he believed the Super Bowl ad was geared towards money – despite its positive message – quite than real support for the trans community.
“I don’t think in the Anheuser-Busch alliance,” Harvie said. “It is worrying that there aren’t any statements of support [for Mulvaney]”.
“They need to have doubled the number. They need to have said, “You discover it offensive for a trans person to advertise Bud Light? Well, there are 10 more,” he added.
That does not seem likely.
On Thursday, Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris denied the company’s ties to a transgender person as Bud Light sales fell 21% from a 12 months ago.
“We want to make clear the facts that it was one camp, one influencer, one post, not a campaign,” Doukeris told investors during an earnings call.
He went on to denounce the “misinformation” being spread on social media after Mulvaney posted an image of Bud Light in a tub on TikTok last month.
Doukeris said the company “provides direct financial support” to suppliers, wholesalers and bar owners affected by the opposition.
The controversy also prompted Bud Light to fireplace two of its chief marketing officers – Alissa Heinerscheid, vp of selling, and her boss, Daniel Blake.
![Custom Bud Light can with Dylan Mulvaney's face](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000009166434-1.jpg?w=743)
Harvey believes that one in all the reasons Mulvaney’s outrage was so intense in comparison with when he appeared in the Bud Light spot was that “transphobic reactions are rather more instinctive with trans women than with trans men.” .
He also said that individuals probably would not even realize he was trans by watching the ad, which was the just one he appeared in during his greater than 20-year profession.
“I feel people would have a tough time saying, ‘Wait, who am I speculated to hate here? “- he said.
He also said that the Mulvaney and Bud Light controversy is not about beer but about the broader issue of trans rights.
![Ian Harvie](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000010579254.jpg?w=649)
“The truth is that Kid Rock and his followers will proceed to drink it,” he told Ad Age. “They’ll scream about it, but they’ll still drink it. This doesn’t change their taste or price. These aren’t microbreweries.
“Although we hear the loud voices and guns of individuals shooting at fucking Bud Light cans, I hope we learn this in the next election cycle – and I hope – that anti-mood, hate and transgender laws is actually very unpopular with the people,” he said Harvie.