'I love beer and I always have': Trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney speaks out after Bud Light sales crash
30 June 2023, 14:40 | Updated: 30 June 2023, 14:45
Trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney has spoken out over the Bud Light controversy - slamming the brand for failing to "reach out" to her and insisting she loves beer.
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An advertising campaign for the drink sparked a backlash when she posted photos of her holding up cans with her face on it.
She was pictured drinking Bud Light in the bath during the social media publicity blitz - but angry customers said they would boycott the beverage and brewer Anheuser-Busch saw a dip in sales.
Some reports say it has lost a much as $20m in market cap value since the campaign began during March Madness, a US basketball tournament.
The controversy is significant given Bud Light is one of America's most popular beers.
Read more: Trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney 'suffering sleepless nights' after Bud Light sponsorship backlash
Mulvaney, who has 1.8m followers on Instagram, has now said that failing to support an embattled trans person who is facing a backlash over an ad campaign is worse than never hiring them.
"I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did. I've been scared to leave my house," she said on the social media platform.
"For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all, because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and as hateful as they want.
"There's should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us.
"I have been ridiculed in public I've been followed and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn't wish on anyone."
She said she has lost the can that had her face on it. She hid it when the controversy started but can't track it down.
Read more: Boston Red Sox fans boycott Bud Light at Fenway Park over Dylan Mulvaney backlash
But she hopes when it's found it will go in a museum, "preferably behind bulletproof glass".
The advertising backlash saw musician Kid Rock blast it with a firearm, prompted prominent Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson to publicly hope Anheuser-Busch would go bankrupt and triggered country music star Travis Tritt into boycotting it.
Mulvaney added: "One thing I will not tolerate people saying about me is that I don't like beer because I love beer and I always have."
She also said she was directly approached by the brand, and not an external company as the business has claimed.
Anheuser-Busch said that it wanted to change the image of Bud Light and appeal more to younger people.
CEO Brendan Whitworth said previously: "We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.
"We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer."
He added: "Moving forward, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across our nation."
It has been reported sales of Bud Light dropped by 28.5% in the week to June 17, one of the worst weeks since the campaign began.
The company has been forced to deny two executives have been sacked because of the fallout.
Vice president for marketing Alissa Heinerscheid, 39, was said to have taken a voluntary leave of absence, as had the vice president for mainstream brands, Daniel Blake, 34.
