Current:Home > InvestEchoSense:Dylan Mulvaney addresses backlash from Bud Light partnership in new video -Elevate Profit Vision
EchoSense:Dylan Mulvaney addresses backlash from Bud Light partnership in new video
Benjamin Ashford View
Date:2025-04-10 23:25:55
Transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney said Bud Light failed to support her or EchoSenseeven reach out after she became the focus of conservative backlash stemming from a video she posted featuring a personalized can sent to her by the company.
"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," Mulvaney said in a video on Thursday. "It gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want."
The 26-year-old, who has 10.6 million followers on TikTok, detailed her experience working with Bud Light, a company she said she loved. Mulvaney said she filmed one Instagram video on April 1 with a customized Bud Light can that had her face on it, which she said the company sent her.
"I'm bringing it up because what transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined," Mulvaney said.
She said she took time to respond to the backlash because she was waiting for the anger to die down and for the brand to reach out to her — two things that haven't happened, according to the social media star.
"I should have made this video months ago, but I didn't and I was scared and I was scared of more backlash," Mulvaney said. "I patiently waited for things to get better, but surprise, they haven't really. And I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did."
Mulvaney, who grew her social media presence with her "Days of Girlhood" series, said the hate she's received because of the collaboration has made her feel personally guilty for what happened and fearful for her safety.
"For months now, I've been scared to leave my house, I have been ridiculed in public, I've been followed," the influencer said. "I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn't wish on anyone."
She also noted that the online attacks directed at her have reverberated throughout the trans community.
"The hate doesn't end with me. It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community," Mulvaney said. "To turn a blind eye and pretend everything is okay, it just isn't an option right now."
Mulvaney lamented that LGBTQ+ rights and support are still considered controversial.
"There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us," she said. "Caring about the LGBTQ+ community requires a lot more than just a donation somewhere during Pride Month."
A spokesperson for Bud Light parent company Anheuser-Busch told CBS News in a statement, "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."
Anheuser-Busch did not address whether or not it or Bud Light had reached out to Mulvaney since the controversy began.
In a "CBS Mornings" interview on Wednesday, Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth avoided answering whether he would send the personalized can to Mulvaney again if he had the chance to do things over again. He said the company is sending financial assistance to distributors and wholesalers affected by the dip in sales since Mulvaney's video.
Whitworth also said that the impact on the company's employees is what "weighs most on me."
Bud Light has seen a decline in sales since collaborating with Mulvaney, recently losing its long-held spot as the best-selling beer in the U.S.
- In:
- Pride Month
- Transgender
- LGBTQ+
- TikTok
- Anheuser-Busch InBev
Simrin Singh is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.
veryGood! (534)
Related
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Biden warns against shutdown, makes case for second term with VP at Congressional Black Caucus dinner
- First Lahaina residents return home to destruction after deadly wildfires
- After summer’s extreme weather, more Americans see climate change as a culprit, AP-NORC poll shows
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- A statue of a late cardinal accused of sexual abuse has been removed from outside a German cathedral
- All students injured in New York bus crash are expected to recover, superintendent says
- India had been riding a geopolitical high. But it comes to the UN with a mess on its hands
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Toymaker Lego will stick to its quest to find sustainable materials despite failed recycle attempt
Ranking
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- AI is on the world’s mind. Is the UN the place to figure out what to do about it?
- When does 'The Voice' Season 24 start? Premiere date, how to watch, judges and more
- The Halloween Spirit: How the retailer shows up each fall in vacant storefronts nationwide
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Retiring Megan Rapinoe didn't just change the game with the USWNT. She changed the world.
- India had been riding a geopolitical high. But it comes to the UN with a mess on its hands
- Why the US job market has defied rising interest rates and expectations of high unemployment
Recommendation
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
First Lahaina residents return home to destruction after deadly wildfires
6 dead after train barrels into SUV at Florida railroad crossing
Senior Australian public servant steps aside during probe of encrypted texts to premiers’ friend
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
US border agency chief meets with authorities in Mexico over migrant surge
A Taiwan golf ball maker fined after a fatal fire for storing 30 times limit for hazardous material
A fire in a commercial building south of Benin’s capital killed at least 35 people