Dylan Mulvaney responded to anti-trans backlash from her Bud Light and Nike deals: 'I'm an easy target'
Dylan Mulvaney was subjected to a barrage of anti-trans hate after partnering with certain brands.
Right-wingers destroyed cans of Bud Light in response, for example.
Mulvaney responded to the backlash, saying she was an "easy target."
Dylan Mulvaney responded to the anti-trans harassment that came in a backlash to her partnering with Bud Light and Nike, calling herself an "easy target."
Mulvaney, a TikToker who rose to fame on the platform, uploaded two Instagram posts sponsored by the brands in the past few weeks, and the fallout was immediate.
With Bud Light, some people complained the brand should "know their audience" and avoid Mulvaney, or that "the majority of your drinkers are going to cancel you."
Prominent conservatives such as Kid Rock even got involved to film himself shooting up cases of the beer in protest. The criticisms of the Nike campaign involved some women taking issue with Mulvaney wearing a sports bra.
The brands stood by Mulvaney. In a statement on Instagram, Nike said she was "an essential component to the success of your community."
"We welcome comments that contribute to a positive and constructive discussion: Be kind, be inclusive, encourage each other," it said. "Hate speech, bullying, or other behaviors that are not in the spirit of a diverse and inclusive community will be deleted."
Mulvaney appeared on the podcast "Onward with Rosie O'Donnell" on April 11, where she spoke about the backlash she received.
She said she had tried to be "the most uncontroversial person" over the past year, but it hadn't worked.
"I think it comes back to the fact that these people, they don't understand me, and anything that I do or say somehow gets taken out of context and is used against me," she said.
"It's so sad because everything I try to put out is positive. It's trying to connect with others that maybe don't understand me. It's to make people laugh, or to make a kid feel seen."
She added that she thought she was criticized so much because she's young and only a year into her transition.
"The reason I think I'm an easy target is because I'm still new to this," Mulvaney said. "I think going after a trans woman who has been doing this for 20 years is a lot more difficult. Maybe they think there's some sort of chance with me that they can — but I mean, what is their goal?"
Mulvaney also said it was time for LGBTQ and allies people to "step up" with the current political climate of harassment campaigns against trans people and certain US states fighting to ban gender affirming care.
"It's gotten so bad, to the point, with all these bills, that we just have to stay alive," Mulvaney said. "This is the time for not only straight people, but we need to show up for us. It's all hands on deck. It is not a time to sit idle."
Even with all the controversies, Mulvaney said her transition has been "worth it."
"Because I wake up every day a little bit happier than I was before," she said.
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