(“Fine. I’m going to *respectfully* get on top of my wife, okay?”)
If there’s one thing the UFC has taught us lately, it’s that rape jokes aren’t funny, especially when delivered by people with bad taste and zero comedic ability. So it was only a matter of time before the promotion’s major sponsors started getting uncomfortable. In light of new criticism from watchdog group Alcohol Justice, Anheuser-Busch (Bud Light’s parent company) released a statement warning the UFC to crack down on their employees’ insensitivity. From Advertising Age (via MMAMania):
“We’ve communicated to the UFC our displeasure with certain remarks made by some of its fighters, and they have promised to address this. If the incidents continue, we will act,” the brewer said in a statement. A-B, which did not elaborate on potential actions, also stated that it “embraces diversity and does not condone insensitive and derogatory comments rooted in ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, etc.”
Anheuser-Busch’s comments were released prior to the company’s shareholders meeting in Brussels, Belgium yesterday. Earlier this month, Alcohol Justice sent an open letter to A-B shareholders, blasting the UFC and Bud Light for “delivering harmful content to millions of underage youth,” citing the “sexist, homophobic, violent and derogatory remarks” made by some of their fighters and Dana White himself. They even criticized that Bud Light Lime ad with Arianny Celeste. (Damn killjoys. What’s wrong with being sexy?)
The UFC, which renewed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Bud Light last April, responded with the following statement to Ad Age: “With over 425 athletes on our roster, there have unfortunately been instances where a couple athletes have made insensitive or inappropriate comments. We don’t condone this behavior, and in no way is it reflective of the company or its values.”