Bud Light Dethroned as Top-Selling Beer in U.S.: ‘Our Year Is Screwed’

Bud Light no longer holds the title as America’s most popular beer amid ongoing boycotts against the brand over its decision to wade into radical political waters by partnering with a transgender influencer.

Modelo Especial replaced Bud Light as the top-selling beer in May. Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev owns Modelo in most international locations except the U.S., where it’s owned by the New York-based Constellation Brands.

Over the four weeks ending June 3, Modelo accounted for 8.4 percent of U.S. retail-store beer sales while Bud Light’s share slipped to 7.3 percent, according to data by beverage industry consulting firm Bump Williams, first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

 “Our year is screwed,” one Anheuser-Busch distributor who doesn’t carry Modelo told the Journal.

Bud Light has been struggling to preserve its preeminence among beer drinkers since it launched a minor creative collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, shocking its traditional blue-collar customer base. The Instagram video, featuring Mulvaney surrounded by the blue cans in a bathtub, triggered massive backlash, causing sales to plummet and the financial firm HSBC to downgrade Anheuser-Busch stock.