Dylan Mulvaney Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock
Dylan Mulvaney broke her silence amid the Bud Light controversy — and blasted the beer brand in the process.
The 26-year-old social media personality, who is transgender, appeared in an April Instagram ad for Bud Light as part of the company’s March Madness campaign. The ensuing backlash from haters — including a video of Kid Rock shooting cans of the beer — led to “more bullying and transphobia than I ever could’ve imagined,” Mulvaney said via Instagram on Thursday, June 29.
Mulvaney’s Thursday video is the first time she has addressed the drama. “I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me but they never did,” she explained, adding that the threats she’s received from those who have boycotted the brand have been terrifying.
“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,” she said, tearing up.
In the clip, Mulvaney drank a beer — “Trans people like beer too,” she captioned the footage — and told fans that the company’s response to the drama has only helped to perpetuate the hatred against members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
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It “gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” she shared.
In April, weeks after Mulvaney’s Instagram ad — in which she promoted Bud Light’s contest to win $15,000 — Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement saying the company “never intended to be a part of a discussion that divides people.”
“As the CEO of a company founded in America’s heartland more than 165 years ago, I am responsible for ensuring every consumer feels proud of the beer we brew. We’re honored to be part of the fabric of this country,” Whitworth said, adding that instead of any division, “we are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
The TikTok star, for her part, noted on Thursday that “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.”
The vitriol and intense backlash has far-reaching repercussions, Mulvaney — who noted she was speaking from a place of privilege — explained, adding that the “hate doesn’t end with me.”
“It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community,” she shared.
While stars like Kid Rock, 52, loudly decried the company for working with Mulvaney, countless other celebs — including Jonathan Van Ness, Lucy Hale and more — supported her in the wake of the backlash.