Former Olympian turned media personality Caitlyn Jenner criticized Nike and Bud Light for featuring transgender TikTok creator Dylan Mulvaney in a recent advertisement. Mulvaney posed in Nike athleisure for a sponsored Instagram post. Recently, musician Kid Rock criticized Bud Light’s parent company, Anheiser Busch, for featuring Mulvaney in a recent sponsorship. Rock has infamously supported Trump and the GOP as a whole, and frequently promotes conservative and anti-LGBTQ+ views on his social media pages.
Jenner has long identified as a Republican, and ran for Governor of California as such in 2021. Since the Trump presidency, many sitting GOP politicians have adopted socially conservative views, Jenner included. Despite Jenner identifying as a transgender woman and former athlete herself, she recently made headlines for criticizing the inclusion of transgender people in professional sports. Jenner said that the Nike campaign featuring Mulvaney was “an outrage.”
As someone that grew up in awe of what Phil Knight did, it is a shame to see such an iconic American company go so woke! We can be inclusive but not at the expense of the mass majority of people, and have some decency while being inclusive. This is an outrage. https://t.co/VJoLCvTyBt
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) April 6, 2023
Jenner later attempted to clarify her statement, saying that she was actually referencing the gender wage gap, after retweeting a message misgendering Mulvaney. Commenters argue that this defense is not applicable, as Mulvaney and Felix are both women.
https://twitter.com/TheyCallMeDaymz/status/1644361737221857285?s=20
Fans of Mulvaney and allies of the transgender community alike were quick to come to the TikTok creator’s defense. Many were critical of Jenner’s criticisms, given that like Mulvaney, she also identifies as a trans woman.
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ok i’m gone ask because clearly y’all are scared… does caitlyn jenner not know she’s trans???? https://t.co/P9vD1B02dj
— 5hahem aka Dr. Durag (@shaTIRED) April 7, 2023
Activist Matt Bernstein (@mattxiv) posted a detailed infographic on why the criticisms of Mulvaney are entirely rooted in transphobia.
Jenner’s Previous Controversies
Some Twitter users tried to understand the strange alleged hypocrisy of Jenner’s transphobia. One Twitter user suspected that she may simply be jealous of other young trans women making a mark on the entertainment industry, and that her recent comments are an example of bullying.
Caitlyn Jenner wants to be the only famous Trans woman.
Anyone else is deemed a threat and attacked as “woke.”
She’s a traitor to her community for no other reason than ego.
She’s a menace. pic.twitter.com/N1c1trJ90I
— Yashar Ali ???? (@yashar) April 7, 2023
Some pointed out that Jenner recently competed in a women’s golf tournament. Jenner was a Gold-Medal Olympian before she transitioned, and has since only competed in the women’s category of sporting events. Meanwhile, Jenner is an outspoken critic of transgender people participating in sports as their true gender identity, insisting they should play with their sex assigned at birth.
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You ???? competed ???? in ???? WOMENS ???? golf ???? tournaments!!!
You're nothing but a backstabbing, mumbling, uncoordinated, ineloquent, tone-deaf bottom feeder.
— Plastic Martyr ????️⚧️ (@plasticmartyr) April 7, 2023
Others reminded the internet of a fatal car crash that Jenner was involved in back in 2015. Jenner paid $800,000 in settlement fees for the incident, and served no prison time.
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/1644302725771845632?s=20
The arguments about Jenner’s constant misgendering of trans women despite her identifying as one herself keep coming. Another Twitter user pointed out that Jenner won Glamour’s “Woman of the Year” award shortly after publicly transitioning. Jenner’s identity as a trans woman is still respected by critics of her political views, and many feel that Jenner owes the trans community the same respect.
Isn’t Caitlyn Jenner the same person who won Woman of the Year a few years after transitioning? ???? pic.twitter.com/JNIv1ytpXC
— Ryan Shead (@RyanShead) April 7, 2023
Mulvaney responded to the recent criticisms of her ad campaigns by posting a powerful clip of her performance of “No One Is Alone” from the Broadway musical “Into The Woods.” Mulvaney performed the song at her recent “365 Days of Girlhood” benefit concert for the Trevor Project.
@jennytuell14 They did her SO DIRTY #snl #jonasbrothers #haileybieber #selenagomez #justinbieber #fyp #greenscreenvideo
Jenner and Rock have not further commented on their criticisms of Mulvaney’s campaigns with Nike and Bud Light.
