Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney broke a self-imposed silence on social media, speaking publicly for the first time since a polarizing partnership with Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light brand sparked a nationwide backlash.
In a video posted late Thursday on TikTok and Instagram, Mulvaney, 26, said so much was being said of her that she didn't feel part of the conversation.
"So I decided to take the back seat and let them tucker themselves out," said Mulvaney, who has 10.8 million followers on TikTok and nearly 2 million on Instagram.
"But then I remembered that nearly 13 million people at some point enjoyed me enough to hit the follow button on these apps. And I was like wait, wait, wait, I want to talk to those people."
Mulvaney had not addressed the issue since she posted a video April 1 detailing how Anheuser-Busch sent her custom-made cans of Bud Light with her likeness printed on the side. The partnership was swiftly condemned, and there were calls for boycotts of the iconic beer brand.
The company stood behind its decision at first, but then CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement saying, "We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer."
Anheuser-Busch's stock dropped, and The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that in the week that ended April 15, retail sales of Bud Light in the U.S. fell 17% compared with the year-earlier period, while sales of rival brands Coors Light and Miller Lite each grew 17.6%.
Not only that, Bud Light's vice president of marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, who green-lighted the Mulvaney promotion, and Daniel Blake, who runs marketing for Anheuser-Busch's brands, have since taken leaves of absence.
"What I'm struggling with most is that I grew up in a conservative family, and I'm extremely privileged because they still love me very much," Mulvaney said. "And I grew up in the church, and I still have my faith, which I am really trying to hold on to right now.
"But I've always tried to love everyone, you know, even the people that make it really, really hard. And 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 to be cruel. I don't think that's right."
Mulvaney said if there were reincarnation, she would like to come back as "someone nonconfrontational and uncontroversial. God, that sounds nice."