CNN is in hot water after a reporter repeatedly misgendered Dylan Mulvaney during a report about the "culture war" in regard to the Bud Light controversy.
Mulvaney, 26, has found herself in the spotlight recently after she was sent a personalized can of Bud Light during their March Madness campaign.
The collaboration between the transgender activist and the beer brand was met with backlash from conservative Americans who threatened to boycott the beverage.
Public figures such as Kid Rock took things even further as the music star filmed himself shooting crates with an AR-15-style weapon - and although he never mentioned Mulvaney, the timing hinted that it was a response to the partnership.
CNN reporter misgenders Dylan Mulvaney:Mulvaney has since claimed that Anheuser-Busch InBev - the company behind Bud Light - did not reach out to support her as the hate messages flooded in.
She said: "For a company to hire a trans person and then to not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, 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."
This has resulted in some members of the LGBTQ+ community also boycotting the brand. While CNN reported this as a "culture war", they also misgendered Mulvaney.
During a broadcast, CNN correspondent Ryan Young repeatedly used the wrong pronouns when referring to the transgender activist, and even pronounced her first name "Dylvan".
"He, of course, is the transgender person they were going to sponsor and go along with, with Bud Light," Young incorrectly said, adding: "But [trans activists] didn’t like how Bud Light didn’t stand by him after all this."
Media Matters critic Ari Drennen slammed CNN, stating: "Unbelievably bad CNN segment. [It] fails to interrogate where the Bud Light boycott came from, [it] launders perspectives of people who think their grandchildren will be harmed by the knowledge that trans people exist [and it] misgenders Dylan Mulvaney. This segment could've run on Fox News!"
Kate Bolduan made an on-air apology on behalf of CNN, stating: "She was mistakenly referred to by the wrong pronoun, and CNN aims to honor individuals’ ways of identifying themselves and we apologize for that error."
Following the backlash due to the Bud Light campaign, Mulvaney has moved to Peru, stating: "It's a little sad that I had to leave my country to feel safe."
Taking to TikTok, the 26-year-old said: "Okay surprise! I'm in Peru! I'm at Machu Picchu. Isn't this so beautiful? I came here to feel something. And I definitely have. I have done shaman ceremonies that were like 10 years worth of therapy, it was wild."
She continued: "I've seen a lot of llamas. The people here are so kind. I feel very safe here. It's a little sad that I had to leave my country to feel safe but that will get better eventually."
The star then went on to talk about how she was craving some "Trader Joe's rolled chili lime chips" but other than that "[she is] so content."
