Beach Boys member Mike Love expressed his hesitation over performing one of their songs due to the “gender-specific” lyrics.
In a viral clip from a recent concert posted to Twitter, Love, 82, stated he was “a little concerned” about performing the band’s hit song “Surfer Girl” because of the lyrics.
“I hope there’s nobody from Budweiser here…or the FBI,” he added.
Before dedicating the tune to “all the ladies,” Love joked, “Sorry, I apologize in advance for anything I might say or do…it’s a family tradition, you know what I’m saying?”
This came after Anheuser-Busch, the parent company for Budweiser and Bud Light, received backlash for partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
On June 15, Brendan Whitworth, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, addressed the controversy in a press release.
“We recognize that over the last two months, the discussion surrounding our company and Bud Light has moved away from beer, and this has impacted our consumers, our business partners, and our employees,” he noted.
Mike Love claims he is afraid to perform 'Surfer Girl' because it is "gender specific", implies that he fears retaliation from the FBI and the Budweiser corporation. (2023) pic.twitter.com/sBKcho8CNs
— Crazy Ass Moments in Beach Boys History (@beachboysmoment) July 9, 2023
Furthermore, Whitworth made it clear, “We are a beer company, and beer is for everyone.”
“As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best – brewing great beer and earning our place in moments that matter to you. Here’s to a future with more cheers,” he concluded.
On June 29, Mulvaney, a biological male, posted a video to his TikTok page slamming the beer brand for not reaching out to him following the backlash he received for the partnership.
He claimed he received “more bullying and transphobia” than he “could have ever imagined” due to his video promoting the brand.
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” he said.
