Bud Light gets pushback after partnering with TikTok creator

(NewsNation) — Bud Light is getting anti-trans backlash after partnering with actor and popular TikTok creator Dylan Mulvaney.

Mulvaney, who is transgender, shared a sponsored post with the beer company Sunday, promoting a March Madness contest it was doing.

“Just found out this had to do with sports and not just saying it’s a crazy month!” she joked. “In celebration of this sports thing, @budlight is giving you the chance to win $15,000!”

The video also showed her with a Bud Light can sporting her image.

After this post, though, conservative pundits and celebrities criticized Bud Light. Some said they would boycott the company, and Kid Rock posted a video of himself shooting cans of Bud Light, although the singer’s action got pushback of its own.

These responses come at a time when trans issues, such as gender-affirming care. are being debated across the country. According to a website that tracks this legislation, there were 492 anti-trans bills introduced across the country so far in 2023, with 422 labeled as “active.”

Mulvaney herself is no stranger to criticism, but recently told Rolling Stone that she’s “made a little bit of peace with the fact that people have a problem with my transness or with my joy.”

“That’s on them,” she said. “This has nothing to do with me, and I have to think about the people that I look up to that celebrate this version of myself. Those are the people I should be listening to.”

In a statement to Buzzfeed News, Anheuser-Bush, Bud Light’s parent company, said it works with “hundreds of influencers” across its brand to “authentically connect with audiences across various demographics.”

“From time to time, we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and for brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney,” Anheuser-Bush said. “This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.”

Mulvaney has more than 10.8 followers on TikTok, where she documented her transition with her series “365 days of womanhood.”

Recently, she had a show where she also addressed negative comments.

“I think we’ve established that I really like to talk,” she said, per Rolling Stone. “So I don’t think they’re gonna have the best luck silencing me.”