Dylan Mulvaney responds to transphobes attempting to boycott Maybelline partnership

PSA: Makeup is for everyone

BEAUTYcrew Beauty Editor / April 28 2023

Makeup doesn’t conform to gender roles — it’s makeup. 

However, the transphobes attempting to boycott Maybelline after the brand partnered with TikToker Dylan Mulvaney just can’t seem to get their heads around this idea. 

Apparently policing the products people use to paint their face is a really important issue *eye roll*. 

Mulvaney has already experienced backlash from her partnership with other brands such as Bud Light and Nike from online trolls who seem hellbent on misgendering the content creator. They’ve also accused Maybelline of hating women because of their association with the TikToker (it’s a swing and a miss, folks). 

What sparked their vitriol? Oh you know, just a really enraging video of Mulvaney applying her concealer and lipstick. Totally understandable tbh (if you can’t hear the sarcasm in our tone, we can only apologise, we’ll endeavour to roll our eyes a little louder). 

@dylanmulvaney Getting glam for my Day 365 show with @maybelline #maybellinepartner ♬ Hey It's Me - Official Sound Studio

Thankfully, Maybelline has always been very vocal about the fact that they’re not going to be bullied out of working with someone to cater to the prejudiced few. 

Fans of Maybelline and Mulvaney (and common sense) have come out in droves to lend their support for the partnership and the broader trans community in the video's comment section and on Twitter. 

Dylan Mulvaney responds to Maybelline boycott

Maybelline have yet to comment or release an official statement speaking to the complaints.

However, on April 28th Mulvaney released a heartwarming video addressing the transphobic backlash in which she said, “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 hearing my name and I didn’t know who they were talking about sometimes — it’s a very dissociative feeling.” 

“It was so loud that I didn’t feel a part of the conversation, so I decided to take the back seat and let them tucker themselves out,” she went on to say. “But then I remembered that nearly 13 million people, at some point, enjoyed me enough to hit the follow button on these apps and I was like wait, wait, wait, I wanna talk to those people.”

“I’m doing this new thing where I don’t pressure myself to share anything before I’m ready,” she explained. “I’m actually sitting with my emotions, not reacting, waiting to respond, and shockingly I can’t recommend it more — therapy is paying off people. But I do have some thoughts to share with you.” 

“So I’ve been having some crazy deja vu… I’m 26 and throughout childhood I was called too feminine, over the top, and here I am now being called all the same things, but this time it’s from other adults,” she said calmly. “This is just my personality and it always has been.”

“I grew up in a conservative family, and I’m extremely privileged because they still love me very much. I grew up in the church and I still have my faith, which I’m really trying to hold onto right now. But I’ve always tried to love everyone, even the people that make it really, really hard,” she explained. “I’m struggling to understand the need to dehumanise and to be cruel — I just don’t think that’s right. Dehumanisation has never fixed anything in history, ever.” 

“I’m embarrassed to even tell you this, but I was nervous that you were going to start believing those things that they were saying about me, since it is so loud,” she went on to say. “But I’m just going to go ahead and trust that the people who know me and my heart won’t listen to that noise.” 

“Going forward I want to share parts of myself on here that have nothing to do with my identity, and I’m hoping those parts will still be exciting to you and enough,” she said. “To those of you who support me and choose to see my humanity even if you don’t fully understand or relate to me — thank you!”

“I don’t know if reincarnation is a thing but in my next life I would love to be someone non-confrontational and uncontroversial — God that sounds nice,” she joked. “The good news is that the people pleaser in me has nearly died because there’s clearly no way of winning over everyone.” 

“But if you’re still around, I am too, and I love you and I hope you’re having a great week —I missed you!”

Watch the full clip below:

Thankfully, Maybelline isn’t the only big name dedicating their money to a good cause. Hayley Williams' new Tennessee hair salon is a safe space for the state's marginalised LGBTQIA+ community.

Main image credit: Getty

Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).