Some patrons of the Fairfax Bar and Grill in Indiana felt ostracized when the establishment rebuked them for speaking out against Bud Light’s affiliation with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, faced criticism for teaming up with Mulvaney. The beer company sparked controversy when it commemorated Mulvaney’s “365 Days of Girlhood” by creating customized cans with the influencer’s image, which led to a widespread backlash and boycotts from millions of Americans.
According to a report by Beer Business Daily, Bud Light’s dollar share for the latest week has decreased by a similar amount to the gains made by competitors like Miller Lite and Coors Light as of Monday.
Meanwhile, a venue in Bloomington, Indiana, gained attention this for sending mixed signals on the issue, advocating for “open conversations” regarding the matter while simultaneously asking individuals who hold opposing views to “exit” their premises.
“We are tired of all of the hate. We are very open to debate and discussion and it’s truly a shame that we can’t have open conversations about this important political and cultural topic. Bars, in our opinion, exist as public spaces where ideas should be exchanged,” Fairfax Bar and Grill noted in a Facebook post.
“Unfortunately due to all of the bigotry and hatred that has surfaced around the Bud Light controversy any patron wanting to voice their concerns about the issue will be immediately asked to pay their bill and leave our establishment,” the post noted further.
The venue’s statement was accompanied by an image of another statement, which stated that they are inclusive of “ALL people” but cautioned that those who hold “intolerant” views should refrain from expressing them, Fox News reported.
“We are all aware of the controversy surrounding Bud Light. We support ALL people in this establishment no matter who you are of how you identify. We will continue to sell Anheiser [sic] Busch products because we don’t care who they make special cans for,” the statement noted further. “If you are intolerant of other humans of any kind, we ask that you keep your opinions to yourself. Should you feel the need to discuss this matter in public you will be asked to leave. We will not tolerate intolerance here.”
WISH-TV reporter Adam Pinsker spoke to the bar’s owner McKinley Minniefield, who said, “We were just dealing with a lot of hate speech and people being uncomfortable. My bartenders were aggravated, and we had customers that were leaving.”
The establishment posted a follow-up on its Facebook page on Wednesday.
“While the response here has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive, it’s time to reiterate why we took a stand against hate speech. In the last two weeks since sharing a post stating that we will not tolerate intolerance, our social media has been flooded with blatantly transphobic, homophobic and racist comments,” the post declared. “We are all inclusive and welcome all kindhearted customers. After making that post, the comments on every post since include hate speech saying that transgender people are mentally ill, biological women are being erased, and showing a plethora of disgusting memes.”
The post later declared, “Hate has no place at The Fairfax.”
The owner then declared that so many regulars had left that more customers were now needed to backfill them.
“Thank you to all of you for supporting our establishment. With the departure of some of our regulars, we have needed new clientele, and you have answered. I’m not gonna lie, we still need more of you right now,” the page said. “Please continue to consider supporting us. It’s gonna be a great year of friendship, food, drinks and live music!”
