Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney is contemplating the possibility of starring in a Super Bowl beer advertisement, describing it as “epic,” in an interview.
This aspiration comes just months after her partnership with Bud Light triggered significant backlash, leading her to reassess her public persona.
Mulvaney, a 26-year-old social media sensation known for documenting her transition on TikTok, admitted that the fallout from the Bud Light controversy served as a “huge wake-up call” for her.
In her interview with The Cut, Mulvaney expressed her newfound understanding of the challenges faced by a trans woman in the public eye. She acknowledged the reality of her journey and the need for growth. She said, “I think that some trans elders probably looked at me this last year and were like, ‘B—h. You have so far to go.’ I think they probably saw what has happened to me these last few months coming.”
Reflecting on her experiences, Mulvaney stated, “This was a good wake-up call for me. Now I’m a more realistic person.”
The controversy surrounding Mulvaney emerged in April when Anheuser-Busch sent her a Bud Light beer can featuring her own image to celebrate her 365th day of girlhood—a TikTok series she created to document her transition.
Upon sharing the Bud Light can on her social media platforms, outraged conservatives initiated a campaign against Mulvaney, calling for a boycott of the brand, which resulted in a significant decline in sales.
Mulvaney temporarily withdrew from social media due to the “extreme amount of transphobia and hate” she faced during this period. She has since returned and has openly discussed her experiences.
Mulvaney hopes that in the future, society will view this tumultuous period with bewilderment, saying, “I think hopefully years from now we’ll look back on this time period and be like, ‘What the f–k was that?’” She also believes that she can eventually win over some of her detractors through her personality and humor.
“I don’t like taking myself too seriously. I want to be the funny one,” she said. “I don’t want to be the one that’s scared, the one who’s controversial — that word, controversial, drives me f–king insane. What really makes me controversial? That I’m trans? That I’m hyperfeminine? That I make jokes? That I overshare? Because I actually like being myself or that, God forbid, I’m happy?”
Mulvaney’s optimism about the future is tempered by her belief that the world itself is flawed. She concluded, “Maybe that’s what makes me controversial. I don’t think I’ve actually f–ked up majorly. I think that the world is f–ked up. Cheers to that.”
Meanwhile, Bud Light’s sales continue to struggle months after the controversy first erupted. Data from NielsenIQ published last month indicated that Modelo Especial had surpassed Bud Light as the nation’s top-selling beer in terms of dollars spent on beer, marking the end of Bud Light’s decades-long dominance. Modelo, distributed in the US by Constellation Brands, achieved an 8.34% share of dollars spent on beer compared to Bud Light’s 8.28% through August 12.
