Bud Light Threw Dylan Mulvaney Under the Bus
It's been a chaotic week of (mostly) bad news, but I can help get you up to speed.
Hello, readers. Parker here.
This has been a busy week! I’m going to put the “hey, please subscribe” message right below this, and then I’ll jump right into things.
The Big Story: Dylan Mulvaney addresses the Bud Light ordeal
For those of you out of the loop on this, a super quick. recap:
Dylan Mulvaney is a trans woman with a large following on TikTok and Instagram.
For the first year of her transition, she did a series of tongue-in-cheek “[number] days of girlhood” videos. Like a lot of influencer types, Mulvaney’s videos were mostly life updates, talking about things like the challenges of coming out, how things were going with her hormones, etc.
Like a lot of social media influencers, Mulvaney partners with brands to advertise their products to her audience.
In March, Mulvaney posted a video to Instagram that was sponsored by Bud Light. They sent her a can with her face on it to use in the clip. Again, keep in mind that this was Bud Light trying to advertise its product to Mulvaney’s existing audience. This wasn’t a TV ad, a national campaign, or anything like that. It was just a post on her page.
Right-wing media started raging about Bud Light’s decision to advertise in one of the videos on Mulvaney’s page (as I’m sure Bud Light has advertised on the pages of any number of other influencers). They were angry, simply, because Mulvaney is trans. It’s not like their criticisms were built on some old tweet, a past controversial statement, or anything like that. It was simply rage at the very idea that a brand would spend money advertising to Mulvaney’s followers.
Bud Light distanced itself from Mulvaney, but right-wing media have continued attacking both the brand and her.
For the first time since this began in early April, Mulvaney directly addressed all of this. Check out her TikTok here:
I transcribed the video (bolded emphasis, as always, is mine):
I built my platform on being honest with you, and what I'm about to tell you might sound like old news — but you know that feeling when you have something uncomfy, like, sitting on your chest? Well, that's how I feel right now, so this feels like the right thing to do.
I took a brand deal with a company that I loved, and I posted a sponsored video to my page. And it must have been a slow news week because the way that this ad got blown up, you would have thought I was on a billboard or on a TV commercial or something major, but no, it was just an Instagram video. And the wildest part is that they also sent me one can with my face on it. You might have seen it. Funny story: I had the can around my house, but then I realized, wait, I need to protect this can. So I hid it somewhere, and now I can't find it because I hid it so well, but when I do find it, I feel like it needs to go in a museum, preferably behind bulletproof glass.
And you might be thinking, Dylan, why bring it up now? I'm bringing it up because what transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined. And I should have made this video months ago, but I didn't. And I was scared, and I was scared of more backlash, and I felt personally guilty for what transpired.
So, 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.
And for months now, I've been scared to leave my house. I have been ridiculed in public. I've been followed. And I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn't wish on anyone.
And I'm not telling you this because I want your pity. I am telling you this because if this is my experience from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much, much worse for other trans people.
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. And I have some lesbian friends who could drink some of those haters under the table.
But to turn a blind eye and pretend everything is okay — it just isn't an option right now. And you might say, "But Dylan, I don't wanna get political." Babe, supporting trans people shouldn't be political. There should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us. And I know it's possible because I've worked with some fantastic companies who care, but caring about the LGBTQ+ community requires a lot more than just a donation somewhere during Pride Month.
And all this to say, bottom line, is that if you follow me, if I've made you smile, if you care about me, I need you to care about every trans person, and I need you to support us, and I need you to stand by us. And hey, it's still Pride Month, so I'm gonna celebrate being alive, and I'm gonna celebrate the trans people in my life and the ones I haven't met yet, and 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.
And I know you are probably here for the tea of it all, but I would love for something productive to come from this. So there is a link in my bio to the Trans Law Center, who is doing some wonderful work if you have the means to donate. And to the good people out there, I love ya. I really do. And cheers, but only if you're of legal drinking age. Okay, I love ya. Bye.
Let’s be absolutely clear about something: there’s not a single non-bigoted reason for the backlash against Mulvaney. She’s not embroiled in some hot-button “trans in sports” or “how young is too young to transition?” issue. She’s just… living her life, making videos about her life, and sharing them online. She hasn’t done anything to deserve any of this. Her doing a sponsored video with Bud Light or Nike (the backlash to the Nike sponsorship was, “Oh, so you’re going to have a [anti-trans slur] as a spokesperson to sell your women’s line of clothes? Aren’t there any actual women to choose from!?!?” even though Nike does partner with hundreds of women who aren’t trans) is no different than a livestreamer doing an ad read at the top of an hour.
Mainstream media outlets failed to properly contextualize this, and instead retreated to “both sides” nonsense. There really aren’t two valid sides to this issue, though. She was being attacked simply because of who she is, not because of anything controversial in her past or anything like that. It’s not as though the people yelling about her would have been okay with Bud Light doing a sponsored partnership with a different trans person. No, this is part of the right’s new push to not only fight for the right to discriminate, but for mandatory discrimination against a group of people simply on the basis of who they are. This has happened in history, yet few are willing to point out the parallels.
It’s been disspiriting to watch as Very Serious Media People twist themselves in knots to pretend that this isn’t just fiery anti-trans hatred driving this, and instead pretend that the “debate” is about “kids transitioning” or “trans women in sports.” If that were the case, why has Ben Shapiro, a right-wing bigot who gets invited on all the mainstream news outlets and treated as a serious thinker, been having a multi-day meltdown about trans actress Hari Nef having a part in the upcoming Barbie movie? Shapiro found an April 4 tweet from Nef announcing that she’s in the movie, and Shapiro, just seeing this nearly three months later, has decided to turn his sights on her. Why? Was it something she did? Some vile thing she did in the past? Nope! It’s just that she’s trans, and he doesn’t think trans people should be anywhere in public, ever.
And it’s not that Nef is visibly trans (it shouldn’t matter, but she’s not, and she is conventionally attractive) or that her character is going to be trans (I don’t even know if she’ll have speaking lines or not, but I’m guessing that she’s not going to pop up on screen and go, “Hi! I’m trans!”). So it’s not about some sort of “What if children see this movie with a message that they’re not old enough to understand?” type of moral panic chum. It’s simply that he, like the rest of his disgusting little Daily Wire cohorts, don’t think trans people should exist in society or have jobs. And don’t just take my word for it: they say this themselves.
This isn’t a matter of Dylan Mulvaney or Hari Nef or brand deals or sponsorships or anything like that. Yes, it affects them, but the right’s actual goal is to make it so companies think twice before hiring a trans person for any role at any level. It’s part of a plot to purge trans people from society, and it seems a lot like it’s working.
Still, the press won’t accurately describe what’s happening. This is why trans people get iced out of the public conversation and “debate” on trans topics, as well: the people who make decisions in mainstream media don’t view the “debate” about trans people as a question of how we can all coexist, but as a “debate” over what should be done about trans people. To so much of the press, trans people are little more than a problem to be solved.
I’m really going to need journalists who see this for what it is to start loudly and forcefully pushing back because it’s not as though trans people are going to be able to do it. Until then, it’s just… a really scary time out there. Which brings me to…
The Rest: SCOTUS delivers three gut punches, NYT’s got an unconventional tip for getting your student loans forgiven, and one of my favorite annual traditions
On Thursday, SCOTUS ruled that colleges could no longer take race into consideration in admissions, effectively bringing an end to affirmative action.
And then today, SCOTUS ruled that businesses are allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ people on First Amendment grounds in a case built on a lie.
Oh, and then moments later, the court struck down Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, effectively telling many people with student loans that they now owe $10,000 to $20,000 more than they thought. It’s not great! I wonder if this looming decision has anything to do with why the U.S. Department of Education shared a tweet yesterday with information about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
And on a disturbingly related note, the New York Times shared six ways you can still get your student loans canceled. Number six is a doozy!
In “Six Ways You Can Still Cancel Your Federal Student Loan Debt,” the Times’ “Your Money” columnist Ron Lieber offered some tips for overwhelmed borrowers. Sure, there’s income-driven repayment, public service loan forgiveness, and so on. But let’s fast-forward to number six:
Death! That’s a bit grim! “This is not something that most people would choose as a solution to their debt burden” may be just a bit of an understatement, but yeah, wow, that’s pretty dark.
My favorite government agency released its annual fireworks safety video.
I love the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and especially its social media accounts. Every year around the 4th of July, the people over there put out a video on fireworks safety. There are fireworks, there are mannequins, and there are combinations of the two. Enjoy:
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got this week. Have a happy weekend, and stay safe if you’re setting off fireworks of your own.
Parker
Classi copy/paste issue, the NYT meant to put that 6th option in an article headlined "If you are bothered by Bud Light doing a post with a trans lady, here is an option you should consider"
How in the fuck did an editor let that fly on the NYT??? If I turned in copy like that admittedly I’d get praised but I’m a fucking satire writer not writing for the paper of record.