Dylan Mulvaney calls out transphobia at Streamy Awards, pokes fun at Bud Light controversy
Dylan Mulvaney is cracking jokes – and beers – whether you like it or not.
The TikTok personality and musical theater star won a top prize at Sunday’s Streamy Awards, which celebrate the biggest and brightest of internet culture. Mulvaney, 26, earned the award for breakout creator, for her popular TikTok series “Days of Girlhood” chronicling her transition.
"My life has been changed for the better," Mulvaney said in her Streamys acceptance speech. "But on the flipside, there's also been an extreme amount of transphobia and hate, and I know that my community is feeling it, and I know that even our allies are feeling it."
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Mulvaney, who uses she/they pronouns, continued by encouraging her fellow content creators to support the LGBTQ community.
“I look around this room and I just see so many amazing allies that have platforms, and I think allyship right now needs to look differently and you need to support trans people publicly and proudly,” Mulvaney said. “I think the trans community and the creator community actually have something in common, and that’s that people often underestimate us. But I know that we can stay optimistic just about the future of transness in general, because if we can influence people to buy $22 Erewhon Smoothies, we can also do this.”
Mulvaney ended her speech with an apparent dig at Bud Light, after being subjected to online bullying earlier this year when she appeared in an ad for the beer brand.
"I’m gonna go have a beer and I love ya," Mulvaney said before exiting the stage.
Mulvaney first found herself in the crosshairs of conservatives in April, when she promoted Bud Light in a sponsored Instagram video. The partnership sparked backlash from many people on the right, including singer Kid Rock, who posted a clip of himself shooting and destroying cases of Bud Light in response.
The social media influencer reflected on the experience in a video shared to her Instagram in June, saying that Bud Light never reached out to her amid the firestorm.
"I'm bringing it up because what transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined, and I should have made this video months ago but I didn't," Mulvaney said. "I was scared, and I was scared of more backlash, and I felt personally guilty for what transpired."
Meghan Trainor, the Jonas Brothers and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson were among the other major winners at the 2023 Streamy Awards.
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