Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@DylanMulvaney / Instagram/@dylanmulvaney
Topics: News, US News, Dylan Mulvaney, TikTok, Celebrity
Jess Hardiman
Topics: News, US News, Dylan Mulvaney, TikTok, Celebrity
Dylan Mulvaney has broken her silence to address the Bud Light backlash, saying ‘a lot has been said’ about her since she went offline a few weeks ago.
The trans activist posted her first TikTok in around three weeks to speak about recent events:
Mulvaney, a TikTok sensation who has more than 10 million followers, made a name for herself since documenting her transition into 'girlhood' on the social media platform.
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However, in recent weeks she has faced criticism and hate from trolls after securing endorsements for a number major brands – including Bud Light sending packs of beer featuring her face to celebrate her first full year as an 'out-and-proud trans woman'.
The stunt resulted in bizarre hate and criticism online, with videos of people dumping cans and bottles of Bud Light in trash bins and down sinks.
Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch later released a statement to condemn the reaction, saying it ’never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people’, and was simply ‘in the business of bringing people together over a beer’.
Now, Mulvaney has spoken out about the backlash, saying in a TikTok video: “I’ve been offline for a few weeks, and a lot has been said about me – some of which is so far from my truth that I was hearing my name and I didn’t even know who they were talking about.”
She said the reaction was ‘so loud’ that she didn’t even feel part of the conversation.
“So I decided to take a back seat and just let them tucker themselves out,” she explained.
“But then I remembered that nearly 13 million people at some point enjoyed me enough to hit the follow button on these apps, and I was like, ‘Wait, wait, wait. I wanna talk to those people'.”
Mulvaney said she was ‘doing okay’, and was trying not to pressure herself to share anything until she felt ready, simply sitting with her emotions rather than ‘reacting’.
“I’ve been having crazy déjà 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,” she continued, saying ‘this is just my personality’.
“What I’m struggling with most is that I grew up in a conservative family and I’m extremely privileged because they still love me very much.
“I grew up in the church and I still have my faith, which I am really trying to hold onto right now.
“But I’ve always tried to love everyone, even the people that make it really, really hard. And I think 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.
“I just don’t think that’s right. Dehumanization has never fixed anything in history ever.”
Mulvaney said she felt nervous her fans would start believing the hateful things that were being said about her, but ultimately decided to ‘trust’ that those who know her ‘won’t listen to that noise’.