Why Dylan Mulvaney Is Returning to Social Media Amid “Cruel” Brand Deal Criticism

Dylan Mulvaney is tuning out the haters. 

The TikTok star made her return to social media on April 27 to address the criticism of her sponsored social media posts for Nike and Bud Light. After a couple weeks out of the spotlight, the transgender activist shared the most difficult part of the discourse.

"I've been offline for a few weeks and a lot has been said about me, some of which is so far from my truth that I was like hearing my name, and I didn't even know who they were talking about sometimes," Dylan began in a new TikTok. "It was so loud that I didn't even feel part of the conversation, so I decided to take the backseat and just let them tucker themselves out."

However, Dylan reminded herself that she has about 13 million followers behind her and wanted to share an update with them on her wellbeing.

"I've been having crazy déjà vu," the influencer explained, "because I'm an adult, I'm 26, and throughout childhood, I was called too feminine and over-the-top. Here I am now, being called all of those same things, but this time it's from other adults. If they're going to accuse me of anything, it should be that I'm a theater person and that I'm camp. But this is just my personality and it always has been."

Although she no longer feels like a people pleaser after dealing with online vitriol, Dylan noted that it's still difficult for her to wrap her head around the backlash she has received (Caitlyn Jenner was among those to condemn Dylan's brand deals).

"What I'm struggling with most is that I grew up in a conservative family and I'm extremely privileged, because they still love me very much. And I grew up in the church," Dylan shared. "I still have my faith, which I am really trying to hold onto right now. But I've always tried to love everyone, even the people that make it really, really hard. And I think it's OK to be frustrated with someone or confused, but what I'm struggling to understand is the need to dehumanize and to be cruel. I don't think that's right."

Ultimately, Dylan is reminding herself that her true friends and fans are still with her. She confessed she was embarrassed to tell her followers how nervous she was "that you were going to start believing those things that they were saying about me, since it is so loud." Yet, in her words, "I'm going to go ahead trust that the people that know me and my heart won't listen to that noise."

She thanked her supporters and those that "see my humanity," even if they don't fully understand her experience. Moving forward, Dylan will be posting about topics beyond gender identity with the goal of continuing to bring a smile to people's faces.

"In my next life, I would love to be someone non-confrontational and uncontroversial," she quipped at the end of the video. "God, that sounds nice."