Jordan Stephens, the hip-hop musician, says he was dropped from a campaign to promote a zero per cent beer brand because he talked too much about his sobriety.
Stephens, 33, half of the duo Rizzle Kicks, was in talks to advertise a no-alcohol version of the lager Madri Excepcional when the firm pulled out.
He posted on his Instagram account: “Just lost a job with a 0% alcohol brand for being too open about my sobriety.”
Stephens, who grew up in Neasden, northwest London, and Brighton, has advocated sobriety since his memoir Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs, released last year, told of his struggles with addiction. The issue had its roots in his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and ADHD is also the abbreviation for the title of his book. He has had no alcohol or cocaine for six years.
Stephens said: “It was just a pretty bizarre scenario in which I had a zero per cent alcohol brand approach, which is great because I don’t drink, but I’m also aware of the drinking culture and I think zero per cent is actually a really cool way of disseminating the culture. It was good money … so when something comes along like that, it’s nice because it’s in line with my values.
“We got the conversation going and then I got an email a week later saying that they’d reviewed my online presence and felt … I was too outspoken about my sobriety for the role of ambassador. A zero per cent brand saying you’re too sober is mental.”
Stephens was in talks to advertise a no-alcohol version of Madri Excepcional
An email from the agency handling the promotion said on behalf of the company: “There are quite strict rules around alcohol brands/celebrities, even for their non-alc portfolio, and where Jordan has been quite vocal with his past struggles unfortunately this rules him out on this occasion.”
In his book Stephens wrote how he used cocaine, alcohol and prescription drugs to cope with fame, ADHD and the emotional turmoil triggered by his grandmother’s death and a friend’s suicide. His life also unravelled after he cheated on his girlfriend at the time.
He has since been a prominent voice talking about toxic masculinity and mental health. Rizzle Kicks have had five top ten hits and their debut album went platinum.
Madri Excepcional is made by the brewing giant Molson Coors, which has now apologised to Stephens. Most of the zero per cent brands are owned by traditional brewers and some people believe they do not want the sobriety message to spread too far.
Millie Gooch, an influencer who founded the Sober Girl Society, said on TikTok: “A lot of non-alcohol brands are owned by the alcohol industry so they obviously don’t want to work with sober creators who spend the rest of their time talking about the fact they do not drink.
“Another reason is that sobriety, or sober, is still a bit like a dirty word in marketing, because we have this association of sort of being boring. I was actually given a brief by a brand that said I couldn’t mention ‘sober’. Obviously I went back and said we actually can’t work together.”
Stephens said: “It made me realise how many people are invested in the idea of genuine partnerships, authentic connection. No one wants to be fed a lie. We should be supporting and uplifting our sober community.”
Stephens has been in a relationship with the Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall since 2020
IAN WEST/PA
Michael Baggs, co-founder of the alcohol-free beer Mash Gang, said some newer companies in the sector were also looking to play it safe so they could get bought out.
“Once people realised there was investment money on the table, the number of no-alc brands launched exploded,” he said. “Some brands fear sober creators because sober creators are authentic and honest and can be polarising, and that kind of authenticity could be seen as damaging to the ‘mass appeal’.”
The zero alcohol market is growing in the UK and was valued at £380 million in 2024, according to Mintel, the market research agency. Alcohol-free beer is the largest segment and sales increased by 20 per cent last year.
The market has been driven by shifting attitudes of younger people who focus on fitness, physical and mental health; 39 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds do not drink alcohol, according to a poll by the Portman Group, an industry body that regulates labelling.
Molson Coors said: “We take the same robust and responsible approach to marketing all our brands, whether or not they contain alcohol. We have enormous respect for the journey Jordan and others have been on and recognise that this is a very personal experience.
“Making that very personal experience a part of how any of our brands show up doesn’t feel right to us and doesn’t meet the marketing standards we apply across our whole portfolio. That’s why, frankly, Jordan should not have been approached. We got this wrong and wholeheartedly apologise to Jordan for how this has been handled.”
