Advertisers' new favorite spokesperson is transgender, and critics aren't happy about it.
Dylan Mulvaney, 26, who transitioned from male to female as of March 2021, reportedly wonmore than a million dollarsof endorsements including fashion and beauty brands Kate Spade, Ulta Beauty, Haus Labs and CeraVe, as well as Crest and InstaCart. She also gained 10 million followers.at TikTok.
In March, he appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show, where the star wasknelt in front of Mulvaney and hugged herand MulvaneyMeeting with President Bidenat the White House last fall.
"Mr. President, this is my 221st day of public transition," Mulvaney said of Biden while speaking with him during a call dubbed the "Presidential Forum."
"God loves you," Biden replied.
Mulvaney has benefited from the popularity of TikTok as well as companies looking to communicate diversity. Coming from a privileged background, he uses a high-profile Hollywood team to advance his brand.
But along with Mulvaney's rise there has been a backlash.
When Nike announced Mulvaney would be modeling athletic apparel for women, critics called him "hit in the face.“
Earlier this week, Mulvaney's association with Bud Light's face on beer cans led to boycotts by country artists.travis kicksjRockkind, among other.
"Let me tell you all something and be as clear and concise as possible," Rock said in oneVideo posted to Twitter on Monday evening. He is then seen raising a semi-automatic rifle and shooting several cases of American beer.
Dylan declined comment and referred The Post to its publicist, who did not call back.
Dylan comes from a well-connected family in San Diego.
His grandfather, James Mulvaney Sr., who died in 2010 at the age of 87, was a lawyer, investment banker and president of the former San Diego Padres baseball team. He later served as vice president and general counsel for the Padres when they entered the National League.
Mulvaney Sr. also worked as a banker and businessman.for the controversial financier and industrialist C. Arnholt Smithat Westgate Corporation, who was an early supporter of Richard Nixon and a friend of gangsters like Moe Dalitz.
Smith's empire collapsed in 1973 when his bank, the US National Bank, of which James Mulvaney Sr. was president for a time, collapsed.
At the time, the Wall Street Journal spoke of the collapse of the bank"the greatest in the history of the nation."
Dylan's father, James Jr., one of Mulvaney Sr.'s seven children with his wife Ruth, is a San Diego-area philanthropist known for constantly baking and giving out free cookies.
In 2020, James Jr. said he had drug and alcohol issues and finally gave up when Dylan was a baby so he could be a better father.
Baking cookies became a fun hobby.
"He makes 500 a week and has never sold one," Dylanexplainedin a 2021 TikTok video. "He just gives them to random strangers on the street or at the beach."
"They call me the Cookie Man, and I've branded myself that," James Mulvaney said in 2017. He often bakes about 500 cookies a week.
Dylan's uncle, Brian Mulvaney, told the Post Tuesday that the family "loves" her.
"We always knew she was gay," he said. “She comes from a good family who love and support her. She really loved her grandmother who was completely supportive."
Dylan, who graduated from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and had an ensemble role on the Book of Mormon tour after college, started early in theater in the San Diego area.
In 2009, she won Best Broadway Child Singer at the Hollywood Best New Talent Awards.
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"When the pandemic hit, I was doing the Broadway musical 'Book of Mormon,'" Mulvaney said.
"I found myself without a job and without the creative tools to do what I love. I downloaded TikTok thinking it was a kids app. When I came out as a woman, I made this comedy video, The First Day I'm a Girl. And it exploded. I really don't know of any other place on the internet like TikTok where a creator can grow as fast as he can."
Prior to his move, he appeared and did on the game show The Price is Right with Drew Carey in 2020shared a clip from the show on his TikTok feed.
His uncle Brian said he worries sometimes that Dylan is being "demonized," but added that he hopes his naturally bubbly personality will prevail.
His pre-transition performance on The Price is Right was criticized in some quarters as overzealous.
"It's just her," Brian said. "She's always been theatrical."
The influencer started it"first day as a girl' on TikTok and Instagram in March 2022.
She celebrated her transition yearPresenting a lavish cabaret show that will be broadcast live, "Dylan Mulvaney's Day 365 Live!"Earlier this month at the Rainbow Room in New York.
Dylan has a strong team behind her that helps attract attention in her own way - she is represented by, and sometimes collaborates with, Creative Artists AgencyTrevor-Project,the well-funded and influential non-profit founded in 2016 for LGBTQ+ youth.
Companies like Anheuser-Busch, which owns Bud Light, are among many companies, from Pfizer to Coca-Cola, that are supporting influencers from so-called underserved communities to do well at something called CEI, orCorporate Equality Index.
The CEI is overseen by the controversial and influentialhuman rights campaignwho advocates for the LBGTQ+ community, especially transgender people.
Erik Huberman, a Los Angeles-based marketer and social media CEOhawke media,He said that Dylan is an example of how quickly an influencer on TikTok can go viral and become famous.
"I once had 100 followers and I posted a video that had 69.4 million views," he said. “The next day I had 200,000 followers. Dylan is obviously very talented but CAA was immediately interested and they clearly helped get him all that attention and support. Like Trump, he's a very polarizing figure, which gets a lot of publicity and success in this political environment."
Dylantold peopleEarlier this month she was looking forward to her first kiss as a woman and she doesn't understand why it's taking so long.
"I'm getting a little impatient because I think this is someone who shouldn't be single, especially when you sit down and even look at that Grammy photo," he said. "But then you say, wait, why isn't anyone in the DMs?"
She was very specific about her ideal match.
"I really want someone to make me laugh because sometimes it was a little bit serious trying to succeed and achieve these big things..." he said. "But I think once I meet that one person who can add some hilarity, bring some hilarity back into my life, and I know I can make them laugh in the same way, that's going to be the chef's kiss." "
Dylan, who identifies as queer, expresses his desire to find a relationship and wants to forget some bad experiences from his past.
"I feel like I've re-rented some of those negative experiences that I've had romantically," she says. "And this time I want to do it right."
They arePersonal websitesells branded items, including a "Days of Girlhood" crew-neck sweatshirt ($54), a "t-shirt with a picture of her" ($28), a "Love Ya" coffee mug ($18), and other items ins sold abroad.
EllaHe even got into a fight with Caitlyn Jenner on social mediain October 2022 whenShe made a video of herself wearing so-called "shopping shorts."after a trip to the mall and complained that people were staring at her "belly."
"Mine doesn't look like a little Barbie bag," she said, suggesting that "we're going to normalize women with bulges at some point because we're coming into bikini season."
Jenner, who said she underwent a gender reassignment surgery in 2017, wasn't impressed.
"There's a difference between acceptance and tolerance and normalizing exposure of your genitals in public and in a public place," Jenner tweeted. "I don't support that at all, not in the slightest. Dylan... Happy birthday to your tranny with a penis."
Dylan has also sparked controversy with LGBTQ+ people online, with some members berating her for what they call her outsized privilege.
"She annoys me",wrote a poster on Reddit."I don't doubt his identity but the way he's flaunted his transition really bothers me. Like her trans identity is a new car she just got home from the dealership. And why did he come to represent trans people in the White House? Under Trump, there were enough rich white girls in the White House."