What did Kid Rock say about his viral Bud Light controversy? Singer describes his protest as a ‘tantrum with a machine gun’

Kid Rock, the American singer and rapper recently weighed in on the viral video of him shooting Bud Light cans in 2023. The gesture was in protest of having a transgender influencer promoting the brand. However, the musician has now said that the incident was like a "tantrum with a machine gun."

On February 23, 2024, the 53-year-old appeared in The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The host soon brought up how Rock's actions led to a boycott of the brand, and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch suffered huge losses, as per Fox News. Referring to the incident, Kid Rock then stated:

"Throwing a tantrum with a machine gun? 'Wah, wah, they wanna let guys play in girls’ sports, wah.'"

The musician then mimicked the sounds of an automatic weapon. He expressed that it was simply him "having fun" at the time and venting his anger at Bud Light, as per The New York Post.

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Kid Rock says he is now friends with Bud Light's CEO

On April 1, 2023, a transgender TikToker named Dylan Mulvaney collaborated with Bud Light as part of its promotional March Madness campaign. The clip received major backlash from the brand after sharing a video of Bud Light cans with Mulvaney's face on them.

A few days later, Kid Rock, born Robert James Ritchie, responded to the collaboration on his social media, as per Rolling Stone. At the time, he posted a video, saying:

"F*ck Bud Light and f*ck Anheuser-Busch."

The clip also involved him shooting multiple cases of beer at an outdoor shooting range.

Anheuser-Busch is a multi-national company with local American brands producing products like Bass Pale Ale, Bud Light, Busch Beer, Landshark Lager, and Shock Top, as per their website.

With Kid Rock's shooting cans video, the audience quickly chose to boycott the brand and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch. They refused to buy and in some cases even shelf the products in stores, which cost the parent company a lot of revenue.

Kid Rock appeared in The Joe Rogan Experience podcast this Friday, and while talking about the controversy, he said:

"Man, I was just having fun, to be honest with you. I was pissed, but it wasn’t like it was going to wreck my day, let alone my life. I was just kind of like, 'What the f*ck are they doing?'"

The musician insisted that he did not know that the video would gain such momentum. In January 2024, Fox News reported that Bud Light’s year-over-year revenue was still down nearly 30% almost a year after the partnership started, as per The New York Post.

Rock added that while he became the face of the controversy, he was in no way the "pied piper". The singer disclosed that he was now friends with Bud Light CEO Brendan Whitworth. He then recalled meeting the CEO while they were with the former President Trump at a UFC event:

"We’ve become friends, he’s a good guy. He’s a great guy. I’m like, ‘Dude, you seem like somebody I’d f*ckin’ be friends with, that I’d hang out with. And he’s like, ‘You would, that’s what I’m sayin’. And I’m like, ‘Well, come to Nashville, come visit me.’ F*ckin’ did! Came with his top team … we broke bread, got f*cked up on Bud Light, f*cking bowled, did all this fun sh*t."

Kid Rock, however, noted that he did not take up the CEO's offer for corporate collaboration, though he said they still talk, as per The Wrap.