The conservative backlash against Bud Light still isn’t over, as self-described “anti-woke” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday explained on Fox News how he’s open to having legal action be taken against its parent company.
DeSantis’ appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime coincided with a letter written by the 2024 presidential candidate, obtained by CNN, that suggests AB InBev “breached legal duties owed to its shareholders” by becoming involved with “radical social ideologies.” Bud Light used transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney to help market its product, after which sales dropped thanks in part to musician Kid Rock and others leading calls for a boycott.
According to DeSantis, the losses that Florida’s pension fund saw after the partnership may be actionable. According to CNN, the pension fund held AB InBev shares valuing $46 million in March this year. Its price has dropped from $66 per share to $58, though the outlet notes it is still higher than its $44 low in September 2022. DeSantis, along with the state’s attorney general and chief financial officer–both of whom are also Republicans– are trustees of the State Board of Administration, which handles public workers’ retirement funds.
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“We must prudently manage the funds of Florida’s hardworking law enforcement officers, teachers, firefighters, and first responders in a manner that focuses on growing returns, not subsidizing an ideological agenda through woke virtue signaling,” DeSantis wrote in his letter.
DeSantis reiterated that point to Watters.
“We believe that when you take your eye off the ball like that, you are not following your fiduciary duty to do the best you can for your shareholders,” he said.
“So we are going to be launching an inquiry about Bud Light and InBev, and it could be something that leads to a derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of the shareholders of the Florida pension fund,” he continued. “Because at the end of the day, there have to be penalties for when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda at the expense of hardworking people.”
DeSantis is far from the only Republican who has made a point to lean into the Bud Light controversy by using the tools at their disposal.
His latest act comes not long after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) demanded that the Beer Institute investigate Bud Light’s short-lived partnership with Mulvaney—one which the senator claimed also “warrants detailed oversight by Congress.”
