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Olly Alexander Rejects Calls to Boycott Eurovision

Following calls for him to withdraw from and boycott the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s inclusion amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Olly Alexander explained why he will still be participating in the annual competition on Friday (March 29).

In a statement posted to his Instagram, Alexander responded to activist group Queers for Palestine, who wrote the singer an open letter asking him to withdraw from the contest. “I wholeheartedly support action being taken to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the return of all hostages and the safety and security of all civilians in Palestine and Israel,” he wrote. “I know some people will choose to boycott this year’s Eurovision and I understand and respect their decision.”

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The “Dizzy” singer continued, saying that he took “a lot of time to deliberate” over the correct course of action, and decided that withdrawing from Eurovision “wouldn’t bring us any closer to our shared goal.” Alexander said he and a number of other contestants spoke and decided that “by taking part we can use our platform to come together and call for peace.”

In its original open letter, Queers for Palestine applauded Alexander’s “vision of queer joy and abundance you’ve offered through your music, and share your belief in collective liberation for all,” then asked him to “heed the Palestinian call to withdraw from Eurovision … There can be no party with a state committing apartheid and genocide.”

Alexander also shared a statement from a collective of other Eurovision participants — signed by himself, Ireland’s Bambie Thug, Norway’s Gåte, Portugal’s Iolanda, San Marino’s Megara, Switzerland’s Nemo, Denmark’s Saba, Lithuania’s Silvester Belt and Finland’s Windows95Man — saying that they “stand in solidarity with the oppressed and communicate our heartfelt wish for peace, an immediate and lasting ceasefire and the safe return of all hostages.” They added that they felt “it is our duty to create and uphold this space, with a strong hope that it will inspire greater compassion and empathy.”

Queers for Palestine later responded to Alexander’s decision, saying that while they “welcome” responses from both the singer and his fellow contestants, they found both statements lacking. “When [Alexander et al] use that voice to downplay the genocide in Gaza by vaguely calling it a mere ‘situation,’ they misuse their power. When they choose to ignore the call for a boycott issued by the largest Palestinian coalition, in historic Palestine and in exile, they risk condescending to the people who are being occupied and massacred and are asking for our solidarity.”

This is not Alexander’s first time sharing his thoughts on the ongoing war in Gaza. Shortly before he was announced as a participant in Eurovision 2024, the singer signed an October 2023 open letter from LGBTQ activist group Voices4 London calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and calling out Israel as an “apartheid regime.” After Alexander was announced as the U.K.’s representative for the annual contest, a source for the Conservative Party spoke to The Daily Telegraph to criticize the BBC for choosing the singer as a representative for the U.K., calling the decision “either a massive oversight or sheer brass neck from the BBC.”

Read both of Olly Alexander’s full statements below:

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Eurovision Song Contest stars reject calls for Israel boycott

LONDON — A group of artists set to compete in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest said Friday they “do not feel comfortable being silent” in light of the ongoing Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, but stopped short of heeding growing calls for a boycott of the music competition over Israel’s participation.

The joint statement — from the entrants who will represent Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Switzerland and the United Kingdom — comes a little more than a month before this year’s edition of the pop extravaganza in May. The competition is being held in the Swedish city of Malmo, which said earlier this month that it was prepared for possible protests.

The presence of Israel, which is competing with the song “Hurricane” by Eden Golan, has loomed over the buildup to the competition and fueled calls for the country to be kicked out of the contest. However, the European Broadcasting Union, which runs the event, has allowed Israel to participate after changing the title and lyrics of its entry, which were originally deemed to violate the contest’s rules about remaining nonpolitical.

“We want to begin by acknowledging the privilege of taking part in Eurovision. In light of the current situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and particularly in Gaza, and in Israel, we do not feel comfortable being silent,” the artists’ joint statement said. “It is important to us to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and communicate our heartfelt wish for peace, an immediate and lasting ceasefire, and the safe return of all hostages. We stand united against all forms of hate, including antisemitism and islamophobia.”

The statement added: “We firmly believe in the unifying power of music, enabling people to transcend differences and foster meaningful conversations and connections. We feel that it is our duty to create and uphold this space, with a strong hope that it will inspire greater compassion and empathy.”

The statement came a day after an open letter by a group of LGBTQ+ artists, musicians, writers and activists called on British entrant Olly Alexander to boycott the competition.

Alexander has had international success as part of the band Years & Years, and is among the most high-profile acts at this year’s competition. BBC, the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster, which chooses the British entry, distanced itself from the letter.

“These are the views of Olly Alexander. He is not speaking for the BBC,” it said in a statement.

The group of more than 450 artists and activists under the banner Queers for Palestine had posted the open letter Thursday saying “We ask you to heed the Palestinian call to withdraw from Eurovision.” The group accused the EBU of “providing cultural cover and endorsement for the catastrophic violence that Israel has unleashed on Palestinians.”

Alexander also posted his own response Friday to the Queers for Palestine letter. “As a participant I’ve taken a lot of time to deliberate over what to do and the options available to me. It is my current belief that removing myself from the contest wouldn’t bring us any closer to our shared goal,” he said.

Irish entry Bambie Thug, who uses they/them pronouns, added a further statement posted on their Instagram account, “As an Irish person with a shared history of occupation and a queer individual, I cannot and will not remain silent.”

Saying they were aware of calls to withdraw from the contest, Bambie Thug said that “stepping back now would mean one less pro-Palestinian voice at the contest. My heart and solidarity has and always will lie with the oppressed, and I remain committed to supporting and using my platform to raise awareness and advocate for change.”

The EBU said in a statement: “We understand that these artists wish to make their voices heard in a call for peace. All of us working on this year’s Eurovision Song Contest are mindful of the strong feelings and opinions surrounding the current conflict in the Middle East. We have all been impacted by the images, stories and the unquestionable pain suffered by those caught up in this devastating war.”

The Israeli broadcaster KAN declined to comment and the Israeli Culture and Sports Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on Friday.

When announcing the revised Israeli entry earlier this month, a KAN spokesperson cited Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s desire to have the nation compete in Eurovision. “The president emphasized that at this time in particular, when those who hate us seek to push aside and boycott the state of Israel from every stage, Israel must sound its voice with pride and its head high and raise its flag in every world forum, especially this year.”

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Bud Light sales plunged after boycott over campaign with transgender influencer, company reveals

Anheuser-Busch Inbev reported a drop in U.S. revenue in the second quarter as Bud Light sales plunged amid a conservative backlash over a campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

The world’s largest brewer said Thursday that revenue in the United States declined by 10.5% in the April-to-June period from a year earlier, “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.”

It has lost its place as America’s best-selling beer after more than two decades, slipping into second place in June behind Mexican lager Modelo Especial, which is also owned by the Belgium-based ABInBev.

The company faced blowback after sending a commemorative Bud Light can to Mulvaney, who posted it to her millions of social media followers.

Conservative figures and others called for a boycott of Bud Light, while Mulvaney’s supporters criticized the beer brand for not doing enough to support her. Mulvaney has said she faced bullying and transphobia, criticizing the brand for not reaching out to her amid the furor over their partnership.

The beer giant said overall revenue rose 7.2% in the second quarter, to $15.1 billion, from the same period a year ago as global brands such as Stella Artois and Corona made up for the loss in Bud Light sales.

It said normalized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 5%, to $4.9 billion.

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Bud Light sales slump following boycott over Anheuser-Busch promotion with Dylan Mulvaney

For Anheuser-Busch Inbev, the aftereffects of a marketing promotion involving Bud Light and transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney is lingering like a bad hangover.

The brewing giant on Thursday reported that its revenue in April-to-June quarter fell 10.5% from a year ago, attributing the decline “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.” It has lost its place as America’s best-selling beer after more than two decades, slipping into second place in June behind Mexican lager Modelo Especial, which is also owned by the Belgium-based ABInBev.

The company faced backlash after sending a commemorative Bud Light can to Mulvaney, who posted it to her millions of social media followers.

In the month ending July 15, Bud Light’s U.S. sales were down 26.5%, while Modelo’s were up 13.5%. Bud Light held a 6.8% share of the U.S. beer market in that period, while Modelo held an 8.7% share.

Anheuser-Busch also has been at the center of political attacks. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently suggested the state could take legal action against Anheuser-Busch over the tie-in with Mulvaney. DeSantis told Fox News that the state’s pension fund contained over $50 million worth of Anheuser-Busch shares and that the controversy had hurt the value of its holdings.

Anheuser-Busch CEO on Bud Light boycotts, his company’s reponse and comeback strategy

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DeSantis also also sent a letter to Florida’s State Board of Administration, which manages its pension fund, asking staff “to review how AB InBev’s conduct has impacted and continues to impact the value of SBA’s AB InBev holdings.”

The company said overall revenue rose 7.2% in the second quarter, to $15.1 billion, from the same period a year ago as global brands such as Stella Artois and Corona made up for the loss in Bud Light sales. It said normalized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 5%, to $4.9 billion.

Anheuser-Busch InBev said last week is laying off roughly 2% of workers “across every corporate function.” That represents about 380 of AB InBev’s roughly 19,000 employees.

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Costa Coffee faces boycott calls over transgender illustration

Anti-LGBTQ social media users are threatening to boycott the world’s second-largest coffee chain after a photo of one of its mobile cafe vans, which bore an illustration of a transgender person, began to circulate online Monday.

The hashtag #BoycottCostaCoffee garnered traction after outspoken critics took issue with the illustration, which shows a trans person with scars from a double mastectomy, also known as top surgery. Others tweeted in support of the illustration, saying it brought visibility to trans people. It was not immediately clear when the illustration was first displayed or how many cafe vans it was printed on.

James Esses, co-founder of the anti-trans group Thoughtful Therapists, told NBC News he learned of the cafe van mural when one of his followers sent him a photo of it through X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Esses posted the photo to his account Monday, writing to Costa Coffee, “Could you kindly explain why you are glorifying irreversible surgery,” among other comments.

Esses’ post has been viewed over 6 million times as of Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m particularly concerned with private corporations pushing that narrative in pursuit of profits. I would call it ‘virtue signaling,’” Esses said. (When asked if he plans to boycott the company, Esses said he does not drink coffee or frequent Costa Coffee, but he “certainly won’t be now.”)

Laurence Fox, who founded the far-right populist Reclaim Party, also tweeted about the illustration Monday, denouncing it and accusing the company of promoting “mutilation,” a term that echoes anti-trans language used in legislation in the United States, where 20 states have banned access to transition-related care for minors. “I hope you are boycotted out of existence,” Fox wrote in the tweet.

Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Costa Coffee, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola, is the United Kingdom’s largest coffee chain, according to the data platform Statista, and the world’s second-largest coffee chain, after Starbucks. The company confirmed in a statement to Britain’s GB News that the illustration, designed by Ashton Attzs, is a mural that appears on its Costa Express cafe van.

“At Costa Coffee we celebrate the diversity of our customers, team members and partners,” the statement said. “We want everyone that interacts with us to experience the inclusive environment that we create, to encourage people to feel welcomed, free and unashamedly proud to be themselves. The mural, in its entirety, showcases and celebrates inclusivity.”

Some social media users have pushed back against the anti-trans vitriol on X and celebrated Costa Coffee’s depiction of a trans person.

Jamie Raines, a U.K.-based LGBTQ advocate, tweeted in support of Costa Coffee: “Shockingly to them trans people exist, and might drink coffee. Anyway, as a trans man with similar scars, thank you Costa for the representation.”

Dr. Helen Webberley, the founder of GenderGP, a U.K.-based online service that connects transgender people to gender-affirming care, wrote on X, saying, “I know where I’ll be stopping for my morning cuppa tomorrow morning,” and, “Top surgery doesn’t harm people — it saves lives.”

“Every day I’m staggered about the hate that is directed towards trans people,” Webberley told NBC News. “It’s shocking and horrible, but it’s really caustic, and it seems to be getting worse.”

Webberley, a general practitioner in the U.K. who specializes in gender-affirming care, said the focus on top surgery for trans people is hypocritical, considering that breast augmentation and reduction surgeries for cisgender women are not criticized to the same extent.

“When you speak to trans men who have finally had the operation,” she said, “they are so much happier, so much more confident, so much braver to go out in the world.”

The calls for a Costa Coffee boycott are symptomatic of an era of open anti-LGBTQ backlash that has forced some companies to rethink their outward support of the LGBTQ community.

In April, right-wing groups and conservatives on social media prompted a large boycott of Bud Light beer after it initiated a branded content partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which has led to an ongoing hit in sales numbers. In May, Target announced it would pull some of its Pride merchandise after its employees received threats following similar backlash.

These actions, mobilized by social media, have mainly targeted U.S. companies, but the controversy surrounding Costa Coffee suggests that they are not isolated to the U.S. A June report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found that the U.S. may be exporting anti-LGBTQ rhetoric overseas, including to the U.K.

Emi Tuyetnhi Tran

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