TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney is seeking solace in Peru amid the onslaught of anti-trans harassment she's faced in recent months.
In April, the influencer posted a sponsored Instagram video promoting Bud Light, sharing that the beer's maker had sent her a can of Bud Light with her face on it to commemorate her celebration of "Day 365 of Girlhood" a couple of weeks earlier. The post triggered backlash against the company and Mulvaney, who now says she feels safest outside the U.S.
Following Mulvaney's initial Instagram post, Anheuser-Busch defended its partnership with Mulvaney in a statement sent to the L.A. Times, writing that the company "works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways 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-Busch said. "This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public."
But later that month, the company seemed to buckle under conservative pressure and placed two of its marketing executives on leave. The move came after weeks of blowback, including a video of Kid Rock shooting up cases of Bud Light and rallying cries for a boycott backed by conservative leaders including presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
To date, that boycott has resulted in Bud Light losing almost a third of its market share and ending its decadeslong reign as the nation's No. 1 light beer. Modelo now holds that title.
"I'm in Peru ... at Machu Picchu," Mulvaney said in the TikTok posted Monday. "I'm here by myself and I used to do a ton of solo traveling. I'm telling you, it's the best. If you could ever do a solo trip somewhere, it is such a good way to get to know yourself better."
The influencer revealed that she traveled to Peru to feel something and that she has since participated in shamanic ceremonies that were "like 10 years' worth of therapy." Mulvaney said she has enjoyed the kindness of the Peruvian people and is starting to feel like her own best friend again.
"I feel very safe here," she continued. "It's a little sad that I had to leave my country to feel safe, but that will get better eventually."
Mulvaney hadn't spoken out publicly regarding the Bud Light fiasco until late last month when she shared with her 10.7 million followers that she had "something uncomfy sitting on [her] chest" about the public scrutiny she has faced this year.
"I took a brand deal with the company that I loved, and I posted a sponsored video to my page. And it must have been a slow news week because the way that this ad got blown up, you would have thought I was like on a billboard or on a TV commercial or something major, but no, it was just an Instagram video," she began the TikTok.
Mulvaney continued by saying that the best place for the Bud Light can with her face on it might be in a museum, "preferably behind bulletproof glass."
"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 she hesitated to address the backlash publicly because she was scared it would only exacerbate it, and hoped time would allow things to get better, but they haven't.
"And I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me but they never did. And for months now I've been scared to leave my house," she added, getting choked up. "I have been ridiculed in public. I've been followed, and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn't wish on anyone."
