Anheuser-Busch, one of the largest beer makers in the world is discontinuing Travis Scott’s seltzer brand Cacti within a year of its launch. Although the decision could be construed as a fallout after the Astroworld tragedy, Scott’s spokesperson said that it was a mutual decision.
After the rapper received negative publicity when 10 people died at or after his Astroworld concert, the Cacti Twitter account went silent. On December 10, it was removed.
Anheuser-Busch said in a statement that they had carefully evaluated and decided “to stop all production and brand development of CACTI Agave Spiked Seltzer.” The statement added that it believed that brand fans would “understand and respect” their decision. A company representative did not provide additional information whether the decision was influenced by the Astroworld tragedy, when contacted by Ad Age.
Beer Business Daily had reported that Cacti sales had “petered out significantly.” It had a “rocketship start” and had become “a top 5 seltzer brand with 5.2 share of the segment in just one week of sales.”
A representative for Travis Scott told the outlet that Scott’s endorsement deal expired on November 30. The representative said that the decision to end the deal was “mutual.”
A spokesman for Travis Scott also told TMZ that Travis was clear in his interview that he was not focused on business at this point in time and that his priority was helping the community and fans heal.
On Thursday, the rapper broke his more than four weeks silence and spoke with podcaster Charlemagne Tha God. He expressed his anguish and also said that he didn’t know about the extent of the tragedy that was unfolding as he continued to play on stage.
Victims families and their lawyers have dismissed his sentiments. They said that he had to take responsibility. According to a statement from Tony Buzbee to the Daily Mail his comments were described as “being lawyer driven and calculated to shift the blame from him to someone else.”
Other brands have also dropped Travis Scott. He was a powerful product endorser and influencer before the November Astroworld tragedy. Late November, Nike said that they would be delaying the release of a sneaker that was a collaboration with the Cactus Jack, which is the sub-brand that is used by the rapper for various businesses.
