Howard Stern has said he’s ‘dumbfounded’ by Kid Rock’s protest against Bud Light after trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney was unveiled as its latest brand ambassador. 

Shortly after Mulvaney’s announcement, a MAGA-hat wearing Rock, 52, posted a video shooting up packs of Bud Light. The rocker has been joined by country stars Travis Tritt and John Rich in boycotting the beer.

‘I thought there must be a piece of this story that I’m missing,’ Stern, 69, said on Monday’s edition of his long-running show.’

‘I’m not bothered by gay people or transsexual people. They don’t impact my life, they don’t hurt my life. I love when people are in love. You wanna be a woman? Be a woman. You wanna be a dude, be a dude. Be whatever you f*****g want. As long as you ain’t hurting anybody, I’m on your team,’ Stern added.

Mulvaney, who is known for her popular series on TikTok documenting her gender transition, first posted a sponsored Instagram reel on Saturday coinciding with the final days of the NCAA’s March Madness tournament.

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Howard Stern pictured with Kid Rock in 2017, the MAGA rocker has been a frequent guest on the Sirius XM host’s show over the years

Howard Stern ‘dumbfounded’ by Kid Rock’s Bud Light reaction

In the video, Mulvaney cracks open a regular can of Bud Light, chats about March Madness, promotes a contest and says that the brand had also sent her a special can with her face on it to celebrate the year anniversary of documenting her transition.

The Sirius XM host went on to say that he wished he could invite Rock on his show and ask him why he was so ‘upset’ and ‘hurt’ by the campaign.

‘Kid Rock, I know him. He’s got a great life. He transitioned from some kid in Michigan to a rock superstar! I’m really dumbfounded by why someone would care so much that they would blow up a can of Bud Light and say, “F— Anheuser-Busch.” I don’t get it,’ Stern went on.

The host also pointed out that Rock is ‘flamboyant in his own way’ often appearing on stage clad in a ‘feather boa, maybe a mink coat.’

‘I feel Kid Rock, his songs are all about living life the way you want, “I’m doing my thing man and f— you if you’re not with me.”‘

Kid Rock shoots cases of Bud Light over trans star Dylan Mulvaney

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Rock and Stern pictured together in 2003, the host has invited the singer on to his show to explain his outrage over Dylan Mulvaney

Dylan Mulvaney announces being newest brand ambassador for Bud Light

Then, Stern began to speak about another country star who said that he is boycotting Bud Light, Travis Tritt. The singer announced last week that he will be removing the beer from his rider.

Again, Stern said that he would like to have Tritt on his show to explain why he is so upset over Mulvaney’s face adorning a Bud Light can.

Rock has made many appearances on Stern’s show over the years.

During one memorable exchange, Rock spoke about his pride in not living in Los Angeles but rather spread himself across the country.

‘There’s nothing f*****g better than a plane. These motherf*****s that live in LA – I feel bad for these motherf*****g musicians who I think have money. You ain’t got s**t, motherf****r.

With his ‘big beautiful plane, a double wide in f*****g Nashville, a beautiful home in Michigan. I hunt in Alabama, I stay in Florida when it’s f*****g cold in Michigan’.

‘I’ve got a lot of problems. Money and p***y ain’t one of ’em,’ the American Bad Ass singer said.

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Another Bud Light boycotter, country singer John Rich, pictured with a Coors Light drinking Kid Rock at the 2004 Country Music Awards

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In 2017, Rock told Stern in an interview that he would not be running for the US Senate

That was the same interview in which Rock decided to announce that he wasn’t running for the US Senate.

‘F*** no, I’m not running for Senate. Are you kidding me?’ the Trump supporting rocker told Stern.

The singer described his flirtation with election politics as ‘the worst advice I ever gave myself, but it’s been the most creative thing I’ve ever done. And I’ve gotten to see everyone’s true colors.’

A section on Stern’s website refers to Rock as the ‘ultimate rock star.’

Earlier this year, Rock’s former wife, Pamela Anderson, said in an appearance on Stern’s show that she knew right away when the couple got married that they were not meant to be together.

They were married for a year between 2006 and 2007. In 2007, Rock told Stern that the media story that the pair split over her cameo in the movie Borat, in which she’s accosted by the eponymous character in the faux documentary, was false.

He said that they parted ways due to a variety of reasons, including financial and family issues.

Rock was also one of the performers at Stern’s birthday party in 2000, appearing on stage alongside his late co-frontman Joe C.

In response to the Mulvaney firestorm, Anheuser-Busch has defended working with the influencer and is also standing by its marketing team.

‘Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics,’ the brand said.

‘From time to time we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public,’ a press release continued.

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It comes after backlash the company has been receiving after beer giant Bud Light celebrated polarizing Trans activist Dylan Mulvaney in a new promotion

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The company has been hit with a barrage of complaints, with many customers filming themselves pouring the liquid away

Amid the backlash, a satirical website published a post claiming that Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Bud Light, had fired its entire marketing team responsible for the moves. Some social media users shared the information as if it were genuine, posting screenshots of the headline.

Anheuser-Busch confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday that it had not fired its marketing team in response to the Mulvaney sponsorship.

‘There is no truth to that statement,’ the company said, also emphasizing that the one-off can it sent to Mulvaney with her face on it is not available for wider release.

In the 1990s, Travis Tritt’s tours were sponsored by Budweiser.

Tritt addressed this on Twitter last week. ‘That was when Anheuser-Busch was American owned. A great American company that later sold out to the Europeans and became unrecognizable to the American consumer. Such a shame.’

He appeared to be referring to Belgian company InBev and American Anheuser-Busch agreeing to combine in 2008, with Budweiser as their flagship band.

He then took aim at Ru Paul’s Drag Race and Jack Daniels, posting a picture on his social media saying: ‘All the Jack Daniels drinkers should take note.’

PR experts previously told DailyMail.com that the decision to change their marketing so drastically was like ‘setting their loyal fanbase on fire’.

Gareth Boyd, Marketing & PR Director at Forte Analytica, says that while he can understand where the decision came from it is ‘not the right way to go about it.’

Speaking to DailyMail.com he said: ‘I really cannot understand their approach for this because their core audience just cannot relate.

‘Cutting your core audience in the hope you can draw a completely new audience in, who haven’t been exposed before, doesn’t make sense.’

Bud Light VP talks pivoting from brand’s ‘fratty, out of touch’ humor

Meanwhile Bud Light’s vice president of marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, defended working with Mulvaney in an interview with podcast Make Yourself at Home saying that the brand was at-risk of becoming out-of-touch due to it’s ‘fratty’ reputation.

‘I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand there will be no future for,’ she said.

Although Heinerscheid says the Bud Light brand is on the wane, it remains the flagship beer of parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev.

The Belgian multinational, the world’s largest brewer, saw its profits rise above expectations to more than 7 percent in the last quarter of 2023.

It reported last month its core profit – earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization – was $4.95 billion.

Heinerscheid previously worked as a marketing guru at AB InBev before moving to take the helm as Bud Light’s vice president in July last year.

Her LinkedIn profile proudly states that she is the ‘first female to lead the largest beer brand in the industry.’

Amid the backlash, a satirical website published a post claiming that Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Bud Light, had fired its entire marketing team responsible for the moves. Some social media users shared the information as if it were genuine, posting screenshots of the headline.

Anheuser-Busch confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday that it had not fired its marketing team in response to the Mulvaney sponsorship.

‘There is no truth to that statement,’ the company said, also emphasizing that the one-off can it sent to Mulvaney with her face on it is not available for wider release.