Dylan Mulvaney Tells Brands to Embrace Transgender Influencers

Dylan Mulvaney, the 26-year-old transgender activist whose gift of a commemorative Bud Light can sparked a new era in the world of backlashes and boycotts, is encouraging companies to work with others like her even though the brand has gone through major economic turmoil.

"For a long time, I felt so lucky that these opportunities were coming my way that I thought it was by accident," Mulvaney told Them, an online publication highlighting LGBTQ+ individuals in the spotlight. "But now I realize how much power I actually have.

"If a brand wants to work with me so bad, then they should work with other trans people, too. It's not enough to just hire me, this white, skinny trans girl. I want all the dolls getting all the brand deals."

On Tuesday, the Human Rights Campaign—the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization—issued its first-ever "state of emergency" in over 40 years due to a record number of anti-trans legislation proposed nationwide in 2023.

Before her affiliation with one of America's most iconic beer brands, Mulvaney gained massive notoriety in the social media space with her Days of Girlhood series that debuted last March and gave TikTok viewers a front-row seat to her transition from man to woman.

But even with her massive social media following, it was her association with Bud Light that made Mulvaney culturally mainstream.

When the beer maker belonging to parent company Anheuser-Busch in March sent a can with her own image and likeness on it, it became fodder for a whole new segment of the population—like musician Kid Rock, for example, who recorded video of himself shooting cases of beer—and put the brand under a major microscope.

Within a matter of weeks, a formidable chunk of the conservative population successfully boycotted the beer by both not purchasing bottles and cans off store shelves, and not ordering it at bars. Politicians like Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Republican Representative Lauren Boebert publicly called out the brand for associating with Mulvaney, even as the beer was reportedly a hit at one of Donald Trump's LIV Golf events.

It also led to economic difficulties for some bars, like The Fairfax Bar & Grill in Bloomington, Indiana, which drew a line in the sand and requested those with intolerance to leave their establishment. "I won't tolerate hate speech, and I think that's where I draw the line as a human, as a business owner," bar owner McKinley Minniefield told Newsweek in late April.

Shortly thereafter, the bar relinquished its tough stance and hoped its former customers would return after sales dropped significantly.

Poor sales have become Bud Light's M.O. as of late, with videos shared online showing the beer being passed over for other products—even causing one retailer to sell cans at 14 cents apiece.

Just today, Modelo Especial dethroned Bud Light as the United States' top-selling beer after scoring a 15.6 percent rise in sales in the four weeks ending May 28, as opposed to Bud Light's 22.8 percent fall within the same period.

Bud Light, whose marketing executives took leaves of absence due to the fiasco and market fall, is now reportedly seeking "attractive, young, real women" to help stop the dramatic market plunge.

"I prefer not to name any of those people, because it gives them the satisfaction of believing they're on my mind," Mulvaney, who disappeared from social media for 20 days following the origins of the Bud Light backlash, told Them when asked about the boycotts. "It shows my followers that I'm standing up for myself, but also pushes that their narrative is loud enough to matter."

Joanna Schwartz, a marketing professor at Georgia College & State University, told Newsweek via email that Bud Light's marketing mishap was not defending Mulvaney or the promotion when complaints escalated.

"The basic ideas behind crisis management were overlooked, and it seems to be because Bud Light wasn't intentional in the campaign in the first place," Schwartz said. "But firms that are clear that they stand with the LGBTQ+ community need to do that proudly to be successful."

The Bud Light-Mulvaney saga has had a wider range of economic and social ramifications, leading to a plethora of additional conservative boycotts involving brands' affiliations with the LGBTQ+ population, including Nike, Adidas, Miller Lite, The North Face, Starbucks, and even the Chirstian-based chicken empire Chick-fil-A—whose discovered Diversity, Equity and Inclusion webpage made some loyal customers irate.

Target is arguably the most significant brand hit beyond Bud Light, berated and chastised for its pre-Pride Month release of "tuck-friendly" swimsuits that allow trans women who have not had gender-affirmation surgery to conceal their genitals. The company's decision has drawn reactions from billionaire Elon Musk and failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, and has led to a $4 billion loss in market cap since May 27 alone.

Schwartz agrees with Mulvaney that more transgender individuals should be represented in the marketing game, saying such voices are "more important than ever" in a time of strong backlash and anti-trans legislation. While it's easy to stand by marginalized consumers when the costs and risks are low and the exposure is minimal, Schwartz said most LGBTQ+ customers will ultimately remember—and reward—companies "that unapologetically have their backs when it's a more challenging lift."

"The more trans and nonbinary people who can be visible, the more that we might see as a society that someone else's identity is just who they are, rather than a threat to anyone else or any other way of life," she said. "There are actually a lot of companies that highlight gender diversity in their advertising and among their employees, and they have for years.

"The more that continues, the less traction people can create; the less rage they can muster to not buy brands just because they sell to people who are different than someone else."

Update 06/08/23, 1:57 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Joanna Schwartz.