Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has broken her silence about transphobic backlash after a video she made in partnership with Bud Light led to harassment from people who vowed to boycott the beer company. Bud Light is now no longer the top-selling beer in America, ceding that spot to Modelo.
Mulvaney, 26, said Bud Light failed to stand with her amid the outrage as she faced a wave of hate that left her afraid to leave her home.
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all,” she said in a TikTok posted Thursday.
The controversy began in April when Mulvaney posted a video to her Instagram page promoting Bud Light, which sent her a beer can with her face on it as part of a March Madness campaign. Prominent conservatives were quick to respond with videos of their own, showing themselves destroying Bud Light stock while complaining the company had gone “woke.”
Musician Kid Rock went viral in a video of him shooting cases of Bud Light beer with an assault rifle.
In response, Bud Light CEO and Anheuser-Busch owner Brendan Whitworth wrote a tepid statement: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Mulvaney feels the company’s response wasn’t enough, and criticized Bud Light for failing to reach out to her in the months since the controversy began.
“What transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined,” Mulvaney said. “For months now I’ve been scared to leave my house, I’ve been ridiculed in public, I’ve been followed, and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
“I patiently waited for things to get better, but surprise, they haven’t really. And I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me but they never did.”
The TikTok star, who has more than 10 million followers on the platform, indicated that Bud Light’s lack of a response to the wave of hate “gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want.”
“To turn a blind eye and pretend everything is OK, it just isn’t an option right now,” she said.
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A statement from Anheuser-Busch didn’t address whether the company reached out to Mulvaney.
“We remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority. As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers,” a spokesperson wrote.
Mulvaney said in her video that she’s not looking for pity in sharing her experience with harassment.
“I’m telling you this because if this is my experience from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much, much worse for other trans people,” she said. “The hate doesn’t end with me. It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community and, you know, we’re customers too. I know a lot of trans and queer people who love beer, and I have some lesbian friends who could drink some of those haters under the table.”
Mulvaney first rose to fame on TikTok with her “Days of Girlhood” series of videos, which saw her document her gender transition near-daily while racking up hundreds of millions of views.
She urged her followers on Thursday to support the transgender community and to continue doing so outside of Pride Month.
“Supporting trans people, it shouldn’t be political,” she said. “There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us, and I know it’s possible, because I’ve worked with some fantastic companies who care. But caring about the LGBTQ+ community requires a lot more than just a donation somewhere during Pride Month.”
Mulvaney first addressed the controversy from her Bud Light partnership in an earlier video in April, though she didn’t mention Bud Light by name.
“I’ve always tried to love everyone, even the people that make it really, really hard,” Mulvaney said. “It’s OK to be frustrated with someone, or confused, but what I’m struggling to understand is the need to dehumanize and to be cruel.
“Dehumanization has never fixed anything in history, ever.”
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