BrewDog, an independent brewery headquartered in Britain, has come up with a novel approach to protest Russia President Vladimir Putin’s views of gays, just in time for the Olympics: The anti-Putin beer.
They call it “Hello My Name is Vladimir” beer, and the label features an image of Mr. Putin complete with lipstick and eye shadow, as well as the slogan: “Not for gays,” BuzzFeed reported.
The brains behind the beer creation said in a blog post: “The sick, twisted legislation brought about in Russia that prevents people from living their true lives is something we didn’t want to just sit back and not have an opinion on.”
The company co-founders, James Watt and Martin Dickle, said 50 percent of profits from “Hello My Name is Vladimir” beer sale will go toward charities that “support like minded individuals wishing to express themselves freely without prejudice,” on their website.
To PR Week, Mr. Watt added: “As ’Hello My Name is Vladimir’ is clearly marked ’notforgays,’ we should bypass the legislation introduced by Putin outlawing supposed ’homosexual propaganda,’ so Vlad shouldn’t have an issue with it.”
And to cap it all off, the company co-founders said they sent a free case of the brew to the Kremlin, BuzzFeed reported.
Mr. Putin angered many in the gay community for a recent spate of laws they perceive as discriminatory. Dozens of Olympians from across the world have called on Russia to reconsider the laws they see as “gay propaganda,” and have pressured the International Olympic Committee to take a tougher stance during the Games, The Guardian reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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