Dylan Mulvaney has delivered her first comments since the massive backlash to her Bud Light partnership to insist: ‘Dehumanization has never fixed anything.’
She also pledged to continue sharing content on social media and added: ‘I don’t know if reincarnation is a thing, but in my next life, I would love to be someone non confrontational and uncontroversial.’
The trans influencer, 26, kept her silence for about three weeks amid the firestorm over her beer partnership, which was announced on April 1.
Shares in Anheuser-Busch, Bud’s parent company, plunged and two execs have been placed on leave after customers launched a boycott of the brand. Bud Light’s sales at bars, restaurants and other venues fell by around 34.7% in the weeks after the deal was announced, according to industry estimates.
Mulvaney addressed the drama on Thursday night with a video posted to her 12.5 million online followers which began: ‘You might want to grab a beverage, this is going to be a longer one.’
Mulvaney announced the Bud Light partnership on April 1 and she was also given a special can to mark one year since she started her transition
She says ‘I’m going to try to leave gender out of this, since that’s how we found ourselves here’ and adds that she ‘decided to take a back seat’ amid the ‘loud’ reaction.
In the three-and-a-half minute video, she tells viewers: ‘I’ve been having crazy deja vu because I’m an adult, I’m 26. And throughout childhood, I was called too feminine and over the top. And here I am now being called all those same things.
‘But this time, it’s from other adults. And if they’re going to accuse me of anything, it should be that I’m a theater person and that I’m camp. But this is just my personality. And it always has been.’
She talked about growing up in a conservative family and attending church, adding: ‘I still have my faith, which I am really trying to hold on to right now. But I’ve always tried to love everyone, you know, even the people that make it really, really hard.
‘And I think it’s okay to be frustrated with someone or confused. But what I’m struggling to understand is the need to dehumanize and to be cruel. I just, I don’t think that’s right.
‘You know dehumanization has never fixed anything in history ever.’
Mulvaney said she was ‘worried’ fans would ‘start believing’ her critics but said: ‘I’m just going to go ahead and trust that the people who know me and my heart won’t listen to that noise.
The comments are the first time Mulvaney has directly addressed the criticism of her following the deal with Bud Light
Alissa Heinerscheid, the brand’s vice president of marketing, has taken a leave of absence
Daniel Blake, who is the vice president for Anheuser-Busch’s mainstream brands has also stepped back from his job
‘What I’m interested in is getting back to making people laugh, and to never stop learning. And going forward.
‘I want to share parts of myself on here that have nothing to do with my identity. And I’m hoping those parts will still be exciting to you and will be enough.’
The video opened with the message, ‘it’s day 9,610 of being a human’ – a reference to her ‘Days of Girlhood’ TikTok series which documents her male-to-female transition.
Mulvaney said: ‘A lot has been said about me, some of which is so far from my truth that I was like hearing my name. And I didn’t even know who they were talking about, sometimes. It’s a very disassociated feeling.’
The video ends: ‘The good news is that the people pleaser in me has nearly died because there’s clearly no way of winning over everyone. But if you’re still around, I am too and I love ya. And I hope you’re having a great week and I missed you. Okay, talk soon. Love you. Bye.’
Kid Rock led the backlash to Bud Light’s deal with an angry video of himself shooting a case of the beers with an automatic rifle. The singer, wearing a MAGA hat, said he wanted to send a ‘clear and concise’ message and exclaimed: ‘F*** Bud Light, and f*** Anheuser-Busch. Have a terrific day.’
Mulvaney courted further controversy days after the Bud Light deal was announced by unveiling a partnership with Nike to promote its women’s sportswear
The outrage quickly spread across social media and conservative politicians and celebrities also shared their opposition to the partnership.
Mulvaney then courted further controversy days later by unveiling a partnership with Nike to promote its women’s sportswear. That promotion, which included videos of herself working out in a sports bra and leggings, caused anger from some leading athletes.
Anheuser-Busch has placed two executives on leave over the Bud Light partnership.
Daniel Blake, who is the Anheuser-Busch vice president for mainstream brands, stepped back from his job last week, just days after Bud Light’s VP of marketing Alissa Heinerscheid took a leave of absence.
Blake is Heinerscheid’s boss and the move highlights the turmoil at the multinational business, which is valued at more than $100 billion, over Bud Light’s deal with Mulvaney.
The company said the bosses ‘decided’ to temporarily step down, but their decisions were reportedly not voluntary.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said on April 14: ‘We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer,’ said Whitworth in the statement.
He added: ‘My time serving this country taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect from one another.’