Social media users have applauded Dylan Mulvaney after she used her acceptance speech at the 2023 Streamy Awards to call out transphobia.
The 26-year-old influencer took home the award for Breakout Creator at the awards ceremony, which is dedicated to celebrating the achievements of media and content creators.
The trans activist - who boasts 10.6 million followers on TikTok - prevailed over fellow nominees Alix Earle and Jake Shane, as well as Drew Afualo and Keith Lee.
She took the stage in an Old Hollywood-style ensemble featuring a glamorous ruby red minidress accessorized with a bow and adorned with a side-swept hairstyle.
Watch Mulvaney's speech below:As Mulvaney faced anti-trans backlash in April after she shared a sponsored post for Bud Light, she used her award speech to express her support for the transgender community.
The TikToker began her speech by stating that she was "shocked" to snag the trophy, quipping that the only award she ever expected to win was "maybe a Tony Award."
After calling herself "a musical theater gal with a Streamy," Mulvaney then spoke about how her TikTok series, 'Days of Girlhood,' changed her life "for the better".
"On the flip side, there’s also been an extreme amount of transphobia and hate, and I know that my community is feeling it," she continued, before calling on allies "to support trans people publicly and proudly".
The trans-activist went on to explain that the trans community and the "creator community" have one thing in common because "people often underestimate" them, adding: "We can stay optimistic about just the future of transness in general because if we can influence people to buy $22 Erewhon smoothies, we can also do this."
As she closed out her speech, Mulvaney poked fun at the Anheuser-Busch company backlash that launched a conservative boycott of the beer company by saying: "I’m going to go have a beer and I love you."
Many users rushed to the comment section to express their support for the brave activist. One person wrote: "love seeing her happy!!", and another said: "She’s so lovely!"
A third user commented: "I love seeing her so happy. She deserves to feel loved. The transphobic bigots here need to get over their irrational hatred. Trans women are women. Dylan Mulvaney is a woman. Cope."
As aforementioned, the social media influencer has been the focal point of a deeply divided debate after Bud Light sent her a personalized can of its product on April 1. She took to her Instagram to share a promotional video of her sporting an Audrey Hepburn look and drinking the beverage.
Mulvaney - who was promoting the March Madness competition and celebrating her first year since transitioning - also took pictures of commemorative cans the company sent to her with her face on them as a way to celebrate the "365 Days of Girlhood" milestone she reached.
However, the video and pictures caused a rift online as several conservative celebrities - including Kid Rock and Bri Teresi - took to their social media to denounce the campaign, with the former even shooting cans of the beer as an act of defiance.
After the collaboration, Bud Light ended up losing its place as the best-selling beer across the US. Per CBS News, Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) sold $297 million worth of the beer for the four weeks ending May 28 - a 23% drop from the same time period the year before. After 22 years, Bud Light was knocked out of first place by the Mexican beer brand Modelo Especial.
When Brendan Whitworth - CEO of the brand's parent company - was asked whether they made a mistake in partnering with Mulvaney, he said: "Just to be clear, it was a gift and it was one can."
Following the CEO's comments, Mulvaney took to her Instagram on Thursday (June 29) to condemn the beer company for not supporting her in the months since her sponsored ad was posted and sparked a major debate online.
The social media personality opened up about how her mental health and everyday life have been negatively impacted by the transphobic backlash, saying: "For months now, I’ve been scared to leave my house. I have been ridiculed in public. I’ve been followed.
"And I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. If this is my experience from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much, much worse for other trans people," she added.
She also remarked that the beer brand hiring a trans person but not publicly standing by them is "worse than not hiring a trans person at all" because "it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want. And the hate doesn't end with me - it has serious and grave consequences for the rest of our community. And we're customers, too."