Budweiser slammed for sponsoring both Pride events and the World Cup
Budweiser has been criticised for its involvement in Pride events while it continues to sponsor the World Cup in Russia.
The internationally recognised beer company was one of the sponsors of New York City Pride on Sunday.
However, Budweiser has been slammed for also sponsoring the 2018 FIFA World Cup which is currently being held in Russia.
The FIFA World Cup is in Russia for the first time (MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty)
New York City-based LGBT activist group Voices4 recently began a campaign to shame companies that supported the World Cup, using the hashtag #PrideOverGenocide.
The group state that companies cannot support the World Cup as well as Pride events in the US, and have accused Budweiser of hypocrisy.
The hosting of the World Cup in Russia has been criticised due to Russia’s stance on several human rights issues, including LGBT rights.
As well as a 2013 law banning “gay propaganda”, gay people in Chechnya have been subject to a deadly purge that has prompted over 100 gay and bisexual Chechen men and women to flee the country.
Thousands of people joined the march in New York this year (Alba Vigaray/EPA)
Russia’s treatment of LGBT people has been internationally condemned by multiple human rights organisations and may also violate FIFA’s own ethics rules.
Voices4 spokesperson Elly Brinkley said in a statement: “Including the LGBTQIA+ community in their advertising does not erase their craven decision to financially support a dangerous, homophobic regime.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray attend the 2018 New York City Pride March on June 24, 2018 in New York City. (Theo Wargo/Getty)
The group called on supporters to use the hashtag on Budweiser’s social media in protest, resulting in thousands of comments on Budweiser’s Instagram over the Pride weekend.
Budweiser has not yet responded to the campaign.
McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Visa have also been criticised for sponsoring FIFA or the World Cup in the past.
The Budweiser Instagram was flooded with comments during Pride (Budweiser /Instagram)
The opening weeks of the World Cup have already involved controversy, including the arrest of British LGBT rights activist Peter Tatchell and the closure of the World Cup’s designated LGBT safe-space.
On Saturday, the UK slammed the Russian government’s response to the purge of gay men in Chechnya as “unacceptable.”
Gay people in the region allegedly face arrest, torture and execution – as the Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov publicly insisted that homosexuals are “not people” and should be removed to “purify” the blood of the region.
