June 12, 2023
Dylan Mulvaney Shrugs Off the Hate, Goes Platinum Blonde
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Dylan Mulvaney hasn't let the Bud Light boycott frenzy among right-wing transphobes slow her beat; the social media influencer showed off a new look with platinum blonde locks, UK newspaper the Daily Mail reported.
"In a TikTok video broadcasting her new blonde hair, Mulvaney posed and mouthed the words: 'I live for the gays,'" the newspaper detailed. Mulvaney "paired the bleached hairdo with a 90s-style black mini dress and red lipstick," the account went on to add.
@dylanmulvaney Proud ally ❣️
♬ original sound - Maddie Grace Jepson
Responses were laudatory, the article noted, and fans "were quick to point out that Mulvaney also bleached her eyebrows to match her bob haircut – the social media star sharing an uncanny resemblance to pop icon Madonna in her heyday."
The Mail recalled the recent online dustup in which right-wing transphobes posted hate speech and disturbing videos depicting acts of violence directed at the Bud Light brand. The online hate translated into real-world losses for the brand; the Mail noted that "When singer Kid Rock opened fire on cans of Bud Light while wearing a Trump MAGA hat, a boycott saw sales dip more than 25 per cent."
The article recalled that Mulvaney spoke "openly about the controversy for the first time" recently. Mulvaney said: "No matter your gender, people will project things on to you about who you're supposed to be. And I think we equally have to tell people our actual purpose."
The controversy erupted after an April 1 post from Mulvaney, who had partnered with Bud Light, in which the influencer showed off a one-of-a-kind novelty can with her face printed on it. The virulent and violent posts against Bud Light are part of a larger push from anti-LGBTQ+ activists looking to scare big corporations away from partnerships with LGBTQ+ influencers, as well as an effort to, in words of one right-wing figure, make Pride "toxic" to corporate America.
Other companies have also been caught up in the anti-LGBTQ+ push, including The North Face and Target. In the latter case, aggressive customers knocked over displays of Pride-themed merchandise and threatened employees. More recently, trolls attempted to whip up a boycott of Cracker Barrel after the restaurant chain posted an inclusive message for Pride.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
