Cosmetics company Maybelline is the latest company to face boycott calls after teaming up with trans activist and social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Mulvaney previously participated in a sponsored social media post for Bud Light, as part of the beer brand’s March Madness publicity push. In reaction, online conservatives, spurred on by a growing anti-transgender wave on the American political right, called for boycotts of the popular brand and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch.
Although the association amounted to a short video, the reaction grew, with conservatives sharing videos of themselves destroying Bud Light cans and the Anheuser-Busch facility receiving bomb threats.
Maybelline, a subsidiary of cosmetics industry leader L’Oreal, became the latest target of backlash in similar circumstances: It partnered with Mulvaney for a brief sponsored video post last month promoting one of the brands of company makeup.
This is by the way. This is the whole reason they are having a breakdown. Because Maybelline dared to sponsor a trans woman, Dylan Mulvaney, for this 13-second video. Meanwhile, women, trans and cis, with real problems, are drowning in hate. TERFs are nothing but fanatics. pic.twitter.com/mv6lNyEx7C
— TS Glasses ✨ (@TSGoggles) April 24, 2023
Jamie Grill/Getty
Although Mulvaney initially shared it a month ago, the video resurfaced among conservative circles on social media over the weekend, prompting calls to boycott Maybelline.
“The latest chumps that hired Dylan Mulvaney are makeup companies,” one user wrote on Twitter, according to a CBS News report. “Wake up, go broke.”
“Time for #BoycottMaybelline to the trend as Maybelline used Dylan Mulvaney as their endorser,” another user wrote.
Despite repeated attempts by conservatives to hit back at brands for working with her, Mulvaney remains a popular figure on social media, with more than 1.8 million followers on Instagram and 10.8 million on TikTok. . In addition to Bud Light and Maybelline, she has also done commercials for Nike and Kate Spade. A Yahoo report shortly after Bud Light’s announcement sparked outrage from the right, calling it “the influential company they’re clamoring to work with.”
Mulvaney has remained silent on the Bud Light controversy, but said during an interview with Rosie O’Donnell that she is an “easy target.”
“The reason why I think I’m an easy target is because I’m still new to this,” she said. “I think going after a trans woman who’s been doing this for 20 years is much harder. Maybe they think there’s a chance with me that they can do it, but I mean, what’s their goal?”
L’Oreal, parent of Maybelline, has also worked with transgender women in the past in much more in-depth capacities than recently with Mulvaney, including a 2017 ad campaign featuring model Hari Nef.
The Bud Light boycott appeared to have a noticeable and immediate impact, as sales revenue for the brand fell roughly 17 percent in the week ending April 15. However, it’s not clear if it has had any overall impact on Anheuser-Busch, as the company’s shares have risen more than 4 percent in the past month.
news week reached out to Maybelline’s press line via email for comment.