Ok, here I go. Strap in! #1, got zero problem with someone deciding to change their gender. Not my cup of tea, but it's a free country and everyone deserves to be respected. BAM.
Mulvaney appears (in my eyes) to be an opportunistic actor who's lampooning women as airheads who haven't got a clue. His character is demeaning.
The best way to handle hucksters like Mulvaney is to ignore them. Then they can't make money in the public advertising sphere. As for the corporate chieftains who support guys like Dylan...f-ck them.
The ad in case you haven't seen:
Transgender Influencer Dylan Mulvaney Speaks Out After Bud Light Controversy
‘A lot has been said about me, some of which is so far from my truth,’ she says
By Alyssa Lukpat, WSJ
Updated April 28, 2023 8:18 pm ET
Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney spoke out in a social-media video weeks after her sponsorship with Bud Light ignited calls to boycott the brand, prompting the beer maker to put two executives on leave.
“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 like hearing my name and I didn’t even know who they were talking about sometimes,” she said in a 3½-minute video posted Thursday night.
“It’s a very dissociative feeling and it was so loud that I didn’t feel part of the conversation,” she added, “so I decided to take a back seat and let them tucker themselves out.”
Her video with Bud Light, posted on April 1, came under fire from some customers and conservative media outlets, putting her and the beer brand at the center of a culture war over transgender issues. Bud Light sales have slumped in recent weeks.
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, BUD -1.84%decrease; red down pointing triangle the maker of Bud Light and the world’s biggest brewer, said it placed two executives on leave who oversaw the collaboration. One of the executives was Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s vice president of marketing, who had been tasked with reviving interest in an aging beer brand and attracting younger drinkers.
Ms. Mulvaney in her Thursday video didn’t directly mention Bud Light, but she addressed what she said was the noise surrounding her recently. Her video has been viewed on TikTok more than 5.8 million times.
“Throughout childhood I was called too feminine and over the top and here I am now being called all those same things,” she said, “but this time it’s from other adults.”
“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 be cruel,” she added. “Dehumanization has never fixed anything in history ever.”
Anheuser-Busch and a representative for Ms. Mulvaney didn’t immediately return requests for comment Friday. In a statement on April 14, Brendan Whitworth, chief executive of AB InBev’s North American business, said, “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
Ms. Mulvaney, 26 years old, routinely partners with corporate sponsors such as Bud Light in posts on social media. She has 10.8 million TikTok followers and 1.8 million Instagram followers. She has worked with brands including Kate Spade, KitchenAid and Maybelline New York, the last of which is facing boycott calls for its collaboration with her.
Maybelline and its parent company, L’Oréal SA, didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Her video with Bud Light earlier this month drew outsize attention. She said she received a beer can from the company with her face on it—“possibly the best gift ever,” she said. She discussed a contest the beer brand was running during the March Madness college basketball tournament.
The personalized can made for Ms. Mulvaney was never available for sale.
Some customers and media outlets criticized the company’s decision to send Ms. Mulvaney the can in celebration of the first anniversary of her gender transition. The musician Kid Rock posted a video on Twitter in which he shot at cases of Bud Light with a rifle.
Bud Light had enlisted several influencers to post about the beer brand during March Madness. The sponsored post by Ms. Mulvaney was consistent with previous Anheuser-Busch campaigns, which have supported LGBT rights. The beer brand works with hundreds of influencers.
Bud Light posted twice on Instagram on Thursday ahead of the 2023 NFL draft. In an unusual social-media approach for the company, comments were disabled.
Ms. Mulvaney built a large social-media following in the past year as she documented her gender-transition process. She interviewed President Biden last year.
She has posted less than usual this month but she said in her Thursday video that she wanted to get back to making people laugh.
“The good news is that the people pleaser in me has nearly died because there’s clearly no way of winning over everyone,” she said. “But if you’re still around I am, too.”
Write to Alyssa Lukpat at alyssa.lukpat@wsj.com
Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the April 29, 2023, print edition as 'Influencer Breaks Her Bud Light Silence'.
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