New York’s Stonewall Inn banning Bud products during Pride weekend

The Stonewall Inn is banning Anheuser-Busch products from the bar associated with the beginning of the gay rights movement during New York City’s Pride weekend because of the company’s donations to lawmakers behind bills that it says target transgender youth.

“You can’t turn your logo rainbow on social media, call yourself an ally, and then turn around and make donations that fuel hate. There are really no excuses, and companies like Anheuser-Busch need to own up to what they’ve done,” Stonewall Inn co-owner Stacy Lentz said in a statement.

Products affected by the ban during Pride Week will include Budweiser, Michelob Ultra and Bud Light. 

Stonewall also shared data from the Keep Your Pride campaign that said that since 2015, Anheuser-Busch has donated $35,350 to anti-LGBTQ legislators. 

“We’re horrified to see so-called allies supporting lawmakers who would make life harder for anyone in our community. We urge Anheuser-Busch and other companies doing this to publicly commit to stop donating to anti-LGBTQ politicians and use their lobbying power to support the Equality Act,” Stonewall Inn co-owner Kurt Kelly said. 

In a statement to The Hill, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said that it supports candidates “that support the beer industry and the millions of jobs that it creates.” It also shared its partnership with various LGBTQ organizations. 

“Our company and our brands are focused on making a positive and lasting impact when it comes to issues of equality,” Anheuser-Busch said. 

The Stonewall Inn has been viewed as the center of the LGBTQ rights movement since June 1969, when bar patrons clashed with police who were trying to carry out a raid of the establishment, a flashpoint that became known as the Stonewall riots.

— Updated 4:17 p.m.