CNN apologizes for misgendering trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney

CNN apologized Wednesday for misgendering transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in a segment aired this week touching on Mulvaney’s role in a right-wing boycott against Bud Light and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch.

Bud Light has faced months of conservative backlash over a brief partnership with Mulvaney in March that involved a sponsored Instagram post. Sales of the beverage have plummeted since then, and Bud Light in June lost its spot as the nation’s bestselling beer.

In a Tuesday segment on the controversy, CNN national correspondent Ryan Young used male pronouns to refer to Mulvaney, a transgender woman.

“He, of course, is the transgender person they were going to sponsor and go along with, with Bud Light,” Young told CNN anchor Kate Bolduan, referring to Mulvaney. 

Young added that Bud Light has also been criticized by some on the left for its failure to adequately support Mulvaney in the wake of the controversy. “They didn’t like how Bud Light didn’t stand by him after all this,” Young said, again referring to Mulvaney.

Bolduan issued an on-air apology for the segment Wednesday.

“Yesterday in a segment about transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who was featured in Bud Light’s recent campaign, she was mistakenly referred to by the wrong pronouns,” Bolduan said.

“CNN aims to honor individuals’ ways of identifying themselves and we apologize for that error.”