Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has revealed she is currently in Peru after leaving the US because she no longer “feels safe” amid the transphobic backlash over her partnership with Bud Light.
The 26-year-old TikTok influencer was seen at Machu Picchu in her 10 July TikTok video. “Hello from Peru,” she wrote.
In the video, Mulvaney revealed that she is “solo travelling” in South America to “feel something,” before admitting that although it was disheartening to leave her home, she does not currently feel safe in the US.
“I feel very safe here. It’s a little sad that I had to leave my country to feel safe, but that will get better eventually,” Mulvaney told her more than 10.7m followers.
“I came here to feel something. And I definitely have. I have done shaman ceremonies that were like 10 years worth of therapy, it was wild,” she continued. “I’ve seen a lot of llamas. The people here are so kind. I feel very safe here.”
In April, the activist announced a partnership with Bud Light for the NCAAMarch Madness tournament, debuting a can with her face on it to celebrate a full year of being a woman. The partnership sparked a deluge of transphobic backlash aimed at Mulvaney and the beer brand, with singer Kid Rock expressing his outrage over the collaboration by shooting a case of Bud Light that he’d purchased.
“F*** Bud Light, and f*** Anheuser-Busch. Have a terrific day,” the 52-year-old singer exclaimed in the video, in which he donned a MAGA hat in support of former president Donald Trump.
Amid the right-wing backlash, which saw Bud Light lose its first place spot of more than two decades as America’s best-selling beer, the Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned beer company remained largely silent. However, in June, Brendan Whitworth, the CEO of Bud Light’s parent company appeared on CBS Mornings to address the backlash. But, after claiming “Bud Light should be all about bringing people together,” he declined to answer directly when asked whether the campaign featuring Mulvaney was a mistake.
Last month, Mulvaney released a public statement addressing the controversy, and the months of “bullying and transphobia” she endured as a result, before alleging the brand has not reached out to her.
“I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did. I‘ve been scared to leave my house. 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,” she said.
“Because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and as hateful as they want. There’s should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us. I have been ridiculed in public, I’ve been followed, and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
The social media personality said she plans to travel through South America for an unknown amount of time to reconnect with herself.
“You know this trip just has me feeling like I’m my own best friend again and that is the best feeling in the world,” Mulvaney remarked. “And I hope that you feel that way about yourself too.”
The video prompted an outpouring of supportive comments, with many applauding Mulvaney for taking the time to herself.
“Have a wonderful time! Hoping you find a lot of love and light there,” one person commented, while another said: “You deserve all the happiness! And safety.”
