Kid Rock made Dylan Mulvaney famous to an audience the transgender social-media influencer never wanted to reach.
The singer called out Anheuser-Busch for partnering with the social-media star by shooting up cases of Bud Light.
He never spoke Mulvaney's name, but Rock's message was clear, and social media hatred aimed at Mulvaney and the Anheuser-Busch (BUD) -) brand ran wild.
In addition to the transphobia openly shared on Bud Light's X (formerly Twitter) feed, an organized boycott badly hurt the brand.
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Bud Light saw its sales drop by about 26% and that caused the brand to lose its title as the world's best-selling beer. Those losses have been consistent since the boycotts began in April and show few signs of lessening (although Anheuser-Busch executives have said that public sentiment toward the brand has improved).
Mulvaney has not said much about the situation, but in a June social-media post did address how the company handled it.
In the video, she criticized Bud Light executives for not defending her and not even reaching out. She also that said hiring a trans person and then ignoring the 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."
Now, in a public appearance at the Forbes CMO Summit, Mulvaney spoke openly about how companies should engage transgender spokespeople. She also shared her idea for a potential commercial for a beer — maybe even Bud Light.
Image source: Anheuser Busch
Mulvaney shares advice to companies
In her interview at the conference, Mulvaney — who has described herself as someone who likes to drink beer — described how she believes companies should work with transgender spokespeople.
She believes that there needs to be a "connection between the partner and the brand.” She said that's not always been the case in her dealings with companies. Mulvaney has worked with a number of major brands including CeraVe, Crest, Instacart, Kate Spade, Nike, Rent the Runway, and Ulta Beauty.
The social-media influencer, who chronicled her first year as a woman on her social-media feeds, wants to make clear that she should be seen as a person, not a political statement.
"Supporting and hiring trans people should not be political, and the people making it out to be — they’re bigots. And we should not let them win,” she said.
Mulvaney remains open to a beer ad
While the Bud Light deal did not go well for Mulvaney or for the beer brand, she says the partnership still makes sense. The transgender influencer even laid out what her version of an inclusive beer ad might look like.
"She said she envisions a trans woman on the opposite side of the saloon as a famous cowboy walks in, and the camera zooms in as their respective high heels and cowboy boots walk toward one another." Forbes wrote. "As the camera pans out, they crack a beer together with the line ‘There’s room for all of us beer drinkers in this town.’"
The Bud Light experience has made Mulvaney — who last year earned $2 million from her brand partnerships — pickier about which companies she works with.
She now wants to partner only with brands she knows will support her and not use her as a prop to reach the LQBTQ+ community.
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