[16][17] In May 2024, Watt stepped down as CEO after 17 years, following a string of sexual harassment and unethical behaviour claims made by company staff, and was replaced by Chief Operating Officer James Arrow.
[16] Watt appeared alongside Martin Dickie from 2013 on their reality TV show Brew Dogs on the American network Esquire, which lasted 3 seasons.
[19] The networks initial PR campaign centred around the launch of beer.porn – a parody of a well-known pornography website – featuring content which drew criticism from industry observers and some shareholders.
[28] A day later, following the report from The Guardian, Watt tweeted the company had no issue with the pub using the name, blaming "trigger happy" lawyers.
[15] In 2018, BrewDog's release of Pink IPA for International Women's Day faced widespread criticism for its execution, with many accusing the marketing of being tone-deaf and patronising.
[31] BrewDog initially dismissed the findings but in 2020 later acknowledged the campaign as a misstep, with CEO James Watt admitting the "backlash was justified" and calling it one of the company's "biggest mistakes.
"[32] In 2019 the company was accused of stealing marketing concepts from Manifest London, a PR firm, and from job applicants using fake interviews and other deceptive practices.
[35] In November 2022, the company criticised Qatar's human rights abuses with an "anti-sponsorship" of the FIFA World Cup, pledging profits from Lost Lager sales to related causes.
However, critics accused the company of hypocrisy, noting its own employee controversies, continued beer sales in Qatar, and plans to show matches in its bars.
The letter cited a "culture of fear", with signatories saying a significant number of former staff had "suffered mental illnesses as a result of working at BrewDog", claiming that the company was "built on a cult of personality" of the founders.
[44] Watt was accused of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power in 2022 when BBC One investigative series Disclosure interviewed "former employees who say they found it a miserable and uncomfortable experience", and "some loyal customers [who] now say they regret investing their savings in BrewDog".
[51] Watt was later accused of trying to "intimidate" ex-staff, and hired private investigators to obtain information on people he believed were propagating a smear campaign against him.
[15][16] In 2025, Watt received backlash for a video he posted, in which he stated "I think the whole concept of work-life balance was invented by people who hate the work that they do.
[51] In 2023 Watt brought a private prosecution against ex-girlfriend Emili Ziem following a civil court finding that she fraudulently induced him into sending her £100,000 in Bitcoin by pretending to investigate an alleged online conspiracy against him.
He also faced backlash for announcing that he was considering delaying their marriage for up to 3 years in order to avoid paying tax on an investment in Toffolo's business venture.
He has claimed being diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, seeking help after being described as "semi-autistic" by a journalist, amid allegations of sexism, bullying and branding the company culture as "toxic" by former members of the BrewDog workforce.
[65] Asperger’s syndrome is no longer recognized as an official diagnosis after it was dropped from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, with the release of the DSM-5, in 2013.