Lady Gaga defended Dylan Mulvaney amid backlash to her International Women’s Day post on Instagram.
The “Shallow” singer posted a picture of her and Mulvaney, 27, to her Instagram and wrote a lengthy caption in support of her, calling out those who spewed “vitriol” the influencer’s way “appalling”. The post was in response to haters who attacked Mulvaney in the comments of a post to her account with a picture of her and the Oscar winner.
“It’s appalling to me that a post about National Women’s Day by Dylan Mulvaney and me would be met with such vitriol and hatred,” she began in the caption. “When I see a newspaper reporting on hatred but calling it “backlash”, I feel it is important to clarify that hatred is hatred, and this kind of hatred is violence. ‘Backlash’ would imply that people who love or respect Dylan and me didn’t like something we did. This is not backlash. This is hatred.”
Gaga noted that the so-called “backlash” to Mulvaney indicated that society has a long way to go in terms of learning to accept the differences of others and treating transgender people with the respect that they deserve.
“It’s obvious we still have to do as a society to make room for transgender lives to be cherished and upheld by all of us,” she continued. “I feel very protective in this moment, not only of Dylan, but of the trans community who continues to lead the way with their endless grace and inspiration in the face of constant degradation, intolerance, and physical, verbal, and mental violence.”
She added that while she’s not positioning herself as a mouthpiece for the LGBTQ+ community, she wanted to use her voice and allyship to call for people to embrace inclusivity rather than hate.
“I certainly do not speak for this community, but I have something to say,” the House of Gucci actor wrote. “I hope all women will come together to honor us ALL for International Women’s Day, and may we do that always until THE DAY that all women are celebrated equally. That all people are celebrated equally. A day where people of all gender identities are celebrated on whichever holiday speaks to them. Because people of all gender identities and races deserve peace and dignity.”
Mulvaney’s prominence on social media as well as her sharing of her journey to becoming a woman, has led conservative media to target the influencer, especially in the wake of the Bud Light debacle. In April last year, Bud Light sent a commemorative can to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. After she posted a video for the company partnership, she was on the receiving end of a horrible hate campaign.
At the time, activists noted that the brand didn’t do enough to support Mulvaney, and she called out Bud Light for failing to support her amid all the transphobia she faced since posting the video. She addressed the hate in July of last year, saying that the months of “bullying and transphobia” had taken its toll on her. She added, “For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all.”
Brendan Whitworth, the CEO of Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev, went on CBS Mornings to address the backlash, claiming that “Bud Light should be all about bringing people together”. However, when asked if featuring Mulvaney as a part of their inclusivity campaign was a mistake, he declined to answer.
