Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney lashed out at Bud Light on Thursday for abandoning her in the wake of their ill-fated partnership and giving "customers permission to be as transphobic and as hateful as they want."
In an emotional Instagram video, the social media star broke her silence and tearfully revealed to her nearly 2 million followers that she has faced public ridicule and felt intense loneliness since the brouhaha erupted.
"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," Mulvaney, 26, said.
The comments from the content creator come after Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth on Wednesday declined to say if the company would collaborate with Mulvaney again. Previously the nation's top-selling brand, the Belgian-based beer giant has taken a $20 billion hit amid a sustained consumer boycott.
Mulvaney said that since she promoted Bud Light in a video posted to her social media on April 1, she's been "scared" to leave her home and experienced "more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined."
"Supporting trans people shouldn't be political," she said. "There should be nothing divisive or controversial about working with us."
The trans activist said Bud Light has not attempted to contact her since gifting her with a customized can bearing her image.
"I was scared of more backlash, and I felt personally guilty for what transpired," Mulvaney said. "I patiently waited for things to get better ... and I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did."
She also said that she won't "tolerate" people saying that she doesn't like beer, because she's always loved it, and plans to put the specially designed can Bud Light sent her "in a museum behind bulletproof glass."
Anheuser-Busch has been fighting to recover from the backlash since the Bud Light-Mulvaney partnership, which also affected sister brands Budweiser and Michelob Ultra.
Early in the controversy, Whitworth told the beer company's customers, "We hear you."
"To all our valued consumers, we hear you," he said. "Our summer advertising launches next week, and you can look forward to Bud Light reinforcing what you've always loved about our brand — that it's easy to drink and easy to enjoy. As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best — brewing great beer and earning our place in moments that matter to you."
The New York Post reported that Bud Light's sales for the week ending June 20 were down 28.5% from a year ago — its steepest drop yet.
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