It’s been a month since trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted on social media about the Bud Light March Madness campaign – a highly controversial partnership that has led the beer maker to lose billions in market value and two senior marketing executives to take leaves of absence. After sharing a few more posts in the immediate aftermath (including one in which Mulvaney wore a Nike women’s sports bra and leggings as part of a sponsored campaign), the activist has been radio silent for the last three weeks.
All of that changed over the weekend, however, when Mulvaney reemerged with a pair of new posts. On Monday’s show, Megyn and ‘Libs of TikTok’ creator Chaya Raichik reacted to Mulvaney’s return to social media and the complete lack of accountability that has been shown.
Dylan Mulvaney Returns to Social Media
Mulvaney’s return to social media featured two posts. One showcased a new photoshoot with Allure complete with a bouffant hairdo, fluttery eye makeup, and red thigh-high boots, and the other was a more candid video of Mulvaney talking vaguely about what has transpired the last few weeks. “Dylan went silent on Dylan’s TikTok and social media for some three weeks and is now resurfaced,” Megyn said. “I mean the hutzpah of this person who tried to become famous as a man and failed but tried in multiple different ways then decided to cross over into our lane, declare himself a girl, walk us through his ‘365 days of girlhood,’ actually did public appearances talking about what it’s like to be a girl and have a period, made a platform of bringing back the bulge in a girl’s bikinis.”
As the video suggests, however, Mulvaney is looking for a new path. “This person now is lamenting that people only want to talk about the trans thing with Dylan and Dylan really just wants to be famous for being Dylan and like not have to talk about gender all the time,” Megyn explained before tossing to the clip:
“I’ve been offline for a few weeks and a lot has been said about me, some of which is so far from my truth that I was like hearing my name and I didn’t even know who they were talking about sometimes,” Mulvaney said, in part. “Going forward, I want to share parts of myself on here that have nothing to do with my identity.”
The video wrapped with an ironic wish. “I don’t know if reincarnation is a thing, but, in my next life, I would love to be someone non-confrontational and uncontroversial,” Mulvaney concluded. “God, that sounds nice.”
Megyn struggled to be empathetic. “It’s as if Dylan just surfaced and said, ‘I want to be a woman – please respect my privacy,’ and the internet piled on Dylan,” she shared. “That’s not how this went down; that’s not how Dylan got in the public eye.” Instead, “this is a provocateur who intentionally offends and provokes and then sits back and says, ‘My message is all about love,’” she added.
Megyn’s takeaway: “There’s just no accountability.”
Bud Light Continues to Face Backlash
While Mulvaney is looking to turn over a new leaf, Bud Light continues to deal with the fallout of the ill-fated partnership. “Bud Light is in a downward spiral like the Fox News 8pm hour,” Megyn joked. “They’re in the same predicament, right?”
Anheuser-Busch is under fire from all sides. In addition to alienating its core customer base, the company is now catching flack from the progressive Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for not doing more to support Mulvaney. In a April 26 letter to the head of human resources, the HRC wrote:
“In this moment, it is absolutely critical for Anheuser-Busch to stand in solidarity with Dylan and the trans community… When faced with anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic criticism, Anheuser-Busch’s actions demonstrate a profound lack of fortitude in upholding its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion to employees, customers, shareholders and the LGBTQ+ community.”
It should be noted that Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light never actually apologized for teaming up with Mulvaney. “They just said, ‘Oh, we never meant to sort of be divisive’ – that’s it,” Megyn said. “And then they placed on leave of absence the woman who ran the campaign and her boss. They’re still employed as far as we know.”
The group said it is preparing to lower Anheuser-Busch’s 100 percent Corporate Equality Index (CEI) score, which it defines as “the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer employees.”
As Megyn noted, “this is the real threat” to Anheuser-Busch. “We’re going to make you un-investable by other companies, going to give you a low CEI score, and we’re going to punish you for just saying, ‘We didn’t mean to be divisive’ and placing the lady on leave,” she explained. “If they cow to this group, it’s over.”
Raichik, for one, can’t understand why companies like Anheuser-Busch continue to find themselves in this situation. “It’s mind-boggling that these brands keep falling into the same crop because, every time they get so involved in politics like this, it always ends up not working out for them,” she explained. “I miss the days and we could just drink a beer or go to the makeup store without having to think if these companies are promoting the pseudoscience that’s destroying kids.”
If you, like Raichik, are wondering why Bud Light “can’t just make their beer, and sell it, and we’ll drink the beer, and everyone’s happy,” she said the answer boils down to political correctness. “They have to show the far left that they are in line with their agenda,” she concluded. “Because they’re scared of what the consequences will be.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Raichik by tuning in to episode 540 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.