Dylan Mulvaney slams Bud Light for lack of support amid backlash

Dylan Mulvaney broke her silence amid the Bud Light controversy – destroying the beer brand in the process.

The 26-year-old social media personality, who is transgender, appeared in an April Instagram ad for Bud Light as part of the company’s March Madness campaign. The ensuing backlash from haters – including a video of kidrock shooting beer cans — led to “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined,” Mulvaney said via Instagram on Thursday, June 29.

Mulvaney’s Thursday video is her first time covering the drama. “I waited for the brand to contact me, but they didn’t,” she explains, adding that the threats she’s received from those who boycotted the brand are terrifying.

“For months now I have been afraid to leave my house, I have been ridiculed in public, I have been followed and I have felt a loneliness that I would not wish on anyone,” she said in tears.

In the clip, Mulvaney drank a beer – “Trans people like beer too,” she captioned the footage – telling fans that the company’s response to the drama has only helped perpetuate hatred against members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

It “gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” she shared.

In April, weeks after Mulvaney’s Instagram ad — promoting Bud Light’s contest to win $15,000 — Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement saying the company “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.”

“As the CEO of a company founded in the heartland of America more than 165 years ago, I must ensure that every consumer is proud of the beer we brew. We’re honored to be part of the fabric of this country,” Whitworth said, adding that rather than any division, “we’re in the process of bringing people together over a beer.”

The TikTok star, for her part, commented on Thursday that “for a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly assist them is, in my opinion, worse than not hiring a trans person at all. “

The vitriol and intense backlash have far-reaching consequences, Mulvaney — noting she spoke from a place of privilege — explained, adding that “hate doesn’t end with me.”

“It has serious and dire consequences for the rest of our community,” she shared.

While stars like Kid Rock, 52, vehemently denounced the company for working with Mulvaney, countless other celebs — including Jonathan van Ness, Lucy Hale and more – supported her in the wake of the backlash.