Dylan Mulvaney has shared a heartwarming post to celebrate her 500th day of being a woman.
It comes after a tough year for the star, as she faced a huge backlash after partnering with Bud Light, admitting that it was so bad she was even ‘scared to leave the house’.
The twenty-six-year-old is known for her transgender activism, in particular her Days Of Girlhood series in which she shares details of her gender transition with her followers.
Bud Light received backlash after partnering with Mulvaney for their March Madness campaign, where people have a chance to win up to $15,000. The twenty-six-year-old shared a video of her dressed like Audrey Hepburn encouraging fans to enter.
The video was captioned: “Happy March Madness!! Just found out this had to do with sports and not just saying it’s a crazy month! In celebration of this sports thing @budlight is giving you the chance to win $15,000! Share a video with #EasyCarryContest for a chance to win!! Good luck! #budlightpartner.”
Despite this totally innocent and ordinary partnership, both Mulvaney and Bud Light were hit with backlash as a result of the anti-trans sentiment in the current climate.
Kid Rock was seen shooting cans of the beer, and Travis Tritt banned the brand from his tour.
Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, also faced troubles. The company saw its value drop by $5 billion in the immediate wake of the partnership, as reported by New York Post.
Bud Light broke their silence on the controversy surrounding their partnership with Mulvaney back in April.
The CEO of Anheuser-Busch, Brendan Whitworth, shared this statement: “As the CEO of a company founded in America’s heartland more than 165 years ago, I am responsible for ensuring every consumer feels proud of the beer we brew.
“We’re honoured to be part of the fabric of this country. Anheuser-Busch employs more than 18,000 people and our independent distributors employ an additional 47,000 valued colleagues.
“We have thousands of partners, millions of fans and a proud history supporting our communities, military, first responders, sports fans and hard-working Americans everywhere.
“We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
His statement continued: “My time serving this country taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect for one another.
“As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.
“I care deeply about this country, this company, our brands and our partners.
“I spend much of my time traveling across America, listening to and learning from our customers, distributors and others.
“Moving forward, I will continue to work tirelessly to bring great beers to consumers across our nation.”
However, Mulvaney later addressed how the company’s response made her feel in the wake of such a huge wave of hatred towards her.
The TikToker revealed in a video shared to Instagram that she never heard from Bud Light again after she faced personal attacks for her promotion of the beer.
She shared that for the company to hire a trans person but then abandon them in the wake of backlash “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.”
“What transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined,” she shared. She added that she held off responding to the controversy for so long because she was “scared of more backlash” and felt “personally guilty for what transpired.”
Mulvaney added that she felt “a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone” as a result from the backlash. She also revealed that she has faced being ridiculed in public, being followed and felt scared to leave the house as a result of the controversy.
However, the latest update from the star is a much more positive one, as she recently celebrated 500 days since she came out as trans.
The star shared a TikTok celebrating the milestone.
“It’s day 500 of publicly coming out as a woman, and that’s a win. And whatever your take on my series was, at its core, it was about me learning new things. And I think I’ve learned more since day 365 than I did during that whole first year, she said.
“On day 387, I learned that trust is something that should be earned and not just instantly awarded. I was the most trusting ad giving person… but that has changed.
“On day 398, I learned that misery loves company. I think that a lot of people have difficulty seeing others happy and successful, especially when they don’t fit the standard of the patriarchy, and I can’t tell you enough how much these last four months have felt like high school.”
She went on to conclude the video by dedicating it to her younger self: “Today is actually day 9705 of being a woman because I’ve always been one. My four-year-old self knew that my ten-year-old self knew that, my 15-year-old self knew that, and they deserve to celebrate these wins too,” she exclaimed.
“And they deserve to celebrate these wins too.”
