Conservative commentator Candace Owens has lashed out at Dylan Mulvaney, after the actress accused Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, of turning “a blind eye” to the transphobic attacks she endured after her collaboration with the brand.
Since early April, Bud Light has been subjected to a relentless backlash for a branded partnership it had with transgender influencer Mulvaney. In a video posted to Instagram on April 1, Mulvaney said the beer brand had sent her a can with her face on it to commemorate her 365 days living as a woman.
Mulvaney’s partnership with Bud Light drew condemnation and boycott calls from several conservative figures, including U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican. Musicians Kid Rock, Travis Tritt and John Rich were also among those who expressed aversions to the beer brand after the collaboration.
Since the calls for a boycott began almost three months ago, Bud Light has seen a drop-off in domestic sales. Revenue remains consistently below what it was the same time in 2022. The company has also lost its crown as America’s most popular beer, with Mexican rival Modelo Especial now in the top spot.
Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Conde Nast;/Jason Davis/Getty Images
Mulvaney addressed the backlash on Thursday in a TikTok post captioned “Trans people like beer too.” In the video, Mulvaney accused Anheuser-Busch of not reaching out to her during the height of the criticism.
“I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did. And for months now, I’ve been scared to leave my house,” she said. “I have been ridiculed in public. I’ve been followed. And I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. If this is my experience from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much, much worse for other trans people.”
While not directly naming Anheuser-Busch, she continued: “For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want. And the hate doesn’t end with me. It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community. And we’re customers, too. I know a lot of trans and queer people who love beer.”
“To turn a blind eye and pretend everything is OK—it just isn’t an option right now,” Mulvaney added. “And you might say, ‘But Dylan, I don’t want to get political.’ Babe, supporting trans people, it shouldn’t be political. There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us.”
Mulvaney’s video was shared on Twitter, where it caught the eye of conservative commentator Owens, who is an outspoken critic of transgender identities.
“No one threatened to kill Dylan Mulvaney. We threatened to (and made good on) no longer drinking Bud Light,” Owens tweeted in reaction on Thursday. “I’m so sick of the ‘trans community’ pretending they are black people surviving the klan in the 1920’s—while [they] shake their fake implants on the White House lawn.”
No one threatened to kill Dylan Mulvaney. We threatened to (and made good on) no longer drinking Bud Light.
I’m so sick of the “trans community” pretending they are black people surviving the klan in the 1920’s—while their shake their fake implants on the White House lawn. https://t.co/auJIoq8nAA— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) June 29, 2023
Owens’ comment was made in apparent reference to transgender activist Rose Montoya, who was recently barred from the White House after photos showed her going topless during a Pride Month event on the South Lawn.
In a follow-up tweet, Owens posted a photo of Mulvaney posing with actress and filmmaker Olivia Wilde at the recent Los Angeles premiere of comedy Theater Camp. “Case in point: here is Dylan ‘I’m scared to leave my house’ Mulvaney pictured last week, wearing an 800$ bra with Olivia Wilde,” Owens wrote. “The whole lot of you need to just stfu with your fake victim act.”
Case in point: here is Dylan “I’m scared to leave my house” Mulvaney pictured last week, wearing an 800$ bra with Olivia Wilde.
The whole lot of you need to just stfu with your fake victim act. pic.twitter.com/YaRBTmonTw
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) June 29, 2023
Political commentator Joey Mannarino weighed in on the matter, responding to Owens: “If a Black person in 1920 had went to the White House lawn and done what [Mulvaney] did on the White House lawn, they would have been killed. The entire trans victimhood narrative is ridiculous. They have gone through NOTHING.”
“Exactly this,” Owens said. “Transgenderism is, among other things, an utterly fictitious ‘civil rights’ movement, comprised mostly of a bunch of mentally deranged gay men that are looking for permission to live out their sexual fetishes publicly.”
Exactly this.
Transgenderism is, among other things, an utterly fictitious “civil rights” movement, comprised mostly of a bunch of mentally deranged gay men that are looking for permission to live out their sexual fetishes publicly. https://t.co/KZF0l1fnD1— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) June 29, 2023
Owens, who has previously advocated for discrimination against transgender people, recently revealed that YouTube has demonetized a number of her videos in which she violated policies regarding misgendering trans people.
Elsewhere in her video, Mulvaney spoke out against the idea that she was a bad fit for promoting Bud Light. “One thing I will not tolerate people saying about me is that I don’t like beer, and I always have,” she said at the beginning of the clip.
Summarizing the events over the past several weeks, she went on: “I took a brand deal with the company that I loved, and I posted a sponsored video to my page. And it must’ve been a slow news week, because the way that this ad got blown up you would have thought that I was on a billboard or on a TV commercial, or something major. But no, it was just an Instagram video.”
She said that she now can’t find the personalized beer can that Bud Light sent to her. “When I do find it, I feel like it needs to go in a museum—preferably behind bulletproof glass,” Mulvaney added, likely in reference Kid Rock’s reaction to the sponsored partnership.
Admitting that she “should have made this video months ago” but feared more backlash, Mulvaney added: “I’m bringing it up because what transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined.”
After urging her followers to support trans people, Mulvaney concluded: “I’m going to celebrate the fact that no matter how many thousands of horrible messages or news anchors misgendering me or companies going silent that I can look in the mirror and see the woman that I am and that I love being.”
In response to Mulvaney’s comments, a spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch told Newsweek via email: “As we’ve said, we remain committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority.”
“As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best—brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers,” the statement added.
Two weeks after Mulvaney’s partnership with Bud Light was unveiled, Anheuser-Busch issued a statement, in which CEO Brendan Whitworth 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.”
In early May, Michel Doukeris, the CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev, also spoke about the controversy during a call with investors, saying: “This was the result of one can. It was not made for production or sale to general public. It was one post, not a formal campaign or advertisement.”
Whitworth issued another statement in June, in which he focused on how the company is working to assist front-line workers and other employees but did not mention support towards the LGBTQ+ community or Mulvaney.
While appearing on CBS Mornings on Wednesday, Whitworth was asked about the campaign and if it was a mistake. He said: “There’s a big social conversation taking place right now, and big brands are right in the middle of it and it’s not just our industry or Bud Light.”
