Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, in a video posted to TikTok Thursday, addressed the ongoing anti-trans controversy over her partnership with Bud Light, accusing the company of not supporting her or even reaching out after the conservative backlash.
“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 because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” Mulvaney said in her TikTok video. “And the hate doesn’t end with me.”
Bud Light, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch, partnered with Mulvaney in April on an Instagram ad that included her posing with a personalized beer can. The ad immediately drew criticism from conservatives who accused the beer company of pushing a pro-LGBTQ agenda and resulted in boycotts of the beer, which recently fell from its spot as the top-selling beer brand in the U.S. for the first time in more than 20 years.
The company also faced criticism from Mulvaney’s supporters and LGBTQ advocates who felt it did not stand firm in its backing of the influencer. Mulvaney also reiterated that members of the LGBTQ community are customers of Bud Light as well.
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She said she decided to address the situation Thursday because she has endured “more bullying and transphobia” than she “could have ever imagined.” She added that she had wanted to wait to address it until the situation had calmed down but that it never did.
Mulvaney said over the last few months she has been scared of leaving her house, ridiculed in public and followed. She added that she is experiencing loneliness that she “wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
“I should have made this video months ago, but I didn’t. And I was scared. And I was scared of more backlash and I felt personally guilty for what transpired,” she said. “So 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.”
“And you might say, ‘But Dylan, I don’t want to get political,’” Mulvaney continued. “Babe, supporting trans people — it shouldn’t be political. There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us.”
In response, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill that the company remains “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,” they added.
Mulvaney’s comments come just a week after Marcel Marcondes, Anheuser-Busch’s global chief marketing officer, said that the controversy was a “wake-up call” to how things can get “divisive and controversial so easily.” The CEO of Anheuser-Busch, Brendan Whitworth, also told “CBS Mornings” that the company was sending financial assistance to wholesalers and beer distributors who may have been impacted by the decline in sales.
—Updated at 5:57 p.m.