Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney gave a cheeky nod to her Bud Light partnership controversy during her acceptance speech for the 2023 Streamy Award for Breakout Creator.
Mulvaney rose to social media prominence and gained a massive online following for chronicling her transition last year in her Days of GirlhoodTikTok series.
The 26-year-old became a frequent target of transphobes and right-wing media after Bud Light chose her to be the brand ambassador and she promoted the beer during March Madness.
Mulvaney, who uses she/they pronouns, claimed Bud Light never reached out to her despite her admitting she was afraid to leave the house for months due to violent threats from transphobic conservatives who bashed Bud Light for what they called "woke" advertising.
In her acceptance speech on Sunday for the awards ceremony recognizing excellence in online video content, Mulvaney said:
"I’m really shocked because I thought the only award I’d ever win was maybe a Tony Award but now I'm a musical theater gal with a Streamy."
She touched on the ups and downs of being a popular influencer, saying:
"532 days ago, I made a coming-out video that turned into my 'Days of Girlhood' series, and my life has been changed for the better."
"But on the flip side, there’s also been an extreme amount of transphobia and hate, and I know that my community is feeling it."
She then called on her fellow online 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."
“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."
Before exiting the stage, she left the audience with:
"I’m gonna go have a beer and I love ya."
You can watch her speech, here.
Fans online cheered Mulvaney's speech.
Back in April, transphobic right-wingers were outraged after Mulvaney promoted Bud Light on her social media pages.
In response to the sponsorship, angry conservatives threatened to boycott the brand, and Kid Rock filmed himself protesting Bud Light by shooting cases of the beer with an MP5 submachine gun.
Mulvaney posted a video in which she said Bud Light has never attempted reaching out to her amidst the controversy.
"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."
She also clarified her preference for brewskies in general.
“One thing I will not tolerate people saying about me is that I don’t like beer, and I always have."
“I’m going to celebrate the fact that no matter how many thousands of horrible messages or news anchors misgendering me or companies going silent that I can look in the mirror and see the woman that I am and that I love being."
The 2023 Streamy Awards aired live on YouTube on August 27.
Other major winners from the evening included Meghan Trainor, the Jonas Brothers, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
