John Rich Weighs In On Ben & Jerry's July 4 Controversy

John Rich has weighed in on the latest brand to face a conservative backlash, suggesting Ben & Jerry's was having a Bud Light moment.

Best known for his time as part of the country music duo Big & Rich, the singer has been a been a vocal Bud Light critic since a national boycott of the brand began in April after it partnered with transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney.

Rich has now joined the debate that followed Ben & Jerry's Independence Day tweet and has aligned the ice cream maker's with the ongoing Bud Light backlash.

Ben & Jerry's came under fire for tweeting: "This 4th of July, it's high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it."

Rich tweeted in reply: "Make @benndjerrys Bud Light again."

Bud Light and Ben & Jerry's are just two of a number of well-known brands to face boycotts for aligning with minority communities, especially LGBTQ+ people.

As well as paying Mulvaney to do some sponsored posts for Bud Light on her Instagram, the company sent her personalized cans with her face on them. The not-for-public sale bespoke beers were made to celebrate the one year anniversary since she began her gender-affirming transition.

Ben & Jerry's defends its long-time openly political stance on issues, saying on its website it wants to "eliminate injustices in our communities by integrating these concerns into our day-to-day business activities."

Along with its controversial tweet on Fourth of July, Ben & Jerry's expanded on its opinion in a statement by suggesting America "start with Mount Rushmore" and addressed the history of the South Dakota landmark and its significance to Indigenous Americans.

"What is the meaning of Independence Day for those whose land this country stole, those who were murdered and forced with brutal violence onto reservations, those who were pushed from their holy places and denied their freedom," the company said in the statement. "The faces on Mount Rushmore are the faces of men who actively worked to destroy Indigenous cultures and ways of life, to deny Indigenous people their basic rights."

Earlier this year, the Vermont ice cream maker fended off calls for a boycott after its co-founder Ben Cohen voiced his opposition to the U.S. providing military aid to Ukraine.

"I think the U.S. should use its power to negotiate an end to the war, not prolong the death and destruction by supplying more weapons," Cohen said in a statement in March.

Ben & Jerry's stopped selling its ice cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2022, saying it would not renew its contract with a licensee in Israel that makes and distributes the ice cream in the region.

USA Today reporter, Kelly Tyko, described it as "one of the strongest and highest-profile rebukes by a well-known company of Israel's policy of settling its citizens on war-won lands."