Mulvaney’s April video sponsored by Bud Light was quickly met with outrage from conservative politicians and personalities who called for a boycott of the beer company for partnering with a trans influencer. Across social media, people shared videos of themselves dumping out cans of Bud Light, destroying them or riddling them with bullets. Several facilities belonging to Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light’s parent company, received bomb threats.
Sipping a beer, Mulvaney said Thursday that the controversy left her fearful and isolated. People followed her movements and ridiculed her publicly, which left her scared to leave her home for months, she said.
“I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Mulvaney said.
Mulvaney said that she was initially quiet about the controversy, fearing inviting more backlash and hoping things would quiet down, “but, surprise, they haven’t really.”
“I should have made this video months ago, but I didn’t,” Mulvaney said. “And I was scared.”
Bud Light representatives did not reach out to Mulvaney as the right-wing outrage grew, she said. Mulvaney criticized the brand for not taking a stronger stance against the backlash directed at her after seeking a partnership with her, echoing criticisms Anheuser-Busch fielded from some customers who said the company didn’t do enough to support Mulvaney.
“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,” Mulvaney said, “because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want.”
A spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch told The Washington Post the company remains committed to partnering with organizations in the LGBTQ+ community. The spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry about whether representatives contacted Mulvaney amid the controversy.
“The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority,” the spokesperson said.
A representative for Mulvaney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
Mulvaney expressed surprise that a single promotional Instagram video that featured a can of Bud Light with her face on it — made to commemorate the anniversary of her gender transition — spread so widely and kicked off such ferocious pushback.
She also expressed concern that fallout over the ad could leave other trans people facing similar abuse.
“The hate doesn’t end with me,” Mulvaney said. “It has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community.”
Mulvaney urged her followers to donate to a transgender advocacy organization and said she’d spend the last days of Pride Month celebrating herself and her community. She still has the Bud Light can that ignited the outrage, she added, though she said she hid it in her home for safekeeping after filming the April video.
“I feel like it needs to go in a museum,” Mulvaney said.
