Maybelline Faces New Calls for Boycotts Amid Dylan Mulvaney Partnership

Cosmetics company Maybelline is the latest company facing calls for a boycott after partnering with trans activist and social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Mulvaney previously participated in a sponsored social media post for Bud Light, as part of the beer brand's March Madness publicity push. In reaction, conservatives online, driven by a broadening anti-transgender wave on the American political right, called for boycotts of the popular brand and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch.

Despite the partnership amounting to one short video, the reaction grew, with conservatives sharing videos of themselves destroying cans of Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch facilities receiving bomb threats.

Maybelline, a subsidiary of cosmetics industry leader L'Oreal, became the latest target of backlash under similar circumstances—partnering with Mulvaney for a short sponsored video post last month promoting one of the company's makeup brands.

While it was initially shared a month ago by Mulvaney, the video resurfaced among conservative social media circles over the weekend, prompting calls for Maybelline to be boycotted.

"The latest fools to employ Dylan Mulvaney is make up company," one user wrote on Twitter, according to a CBS News report. "Get woke, go broke."

"Time for #BoycottMaybelline to trend, since Maybelline used Dylan Mulvaney as their sponsor," another user wrote.

Despite the repeated attempts by conservatives to hit back at brands for working with her, Mulvaney remains a popular figure on social media, with more than 1.8 million followers on Instagram and 10.8 million on TikTok. In addition to Bud Light and Maybelline, she has also done promotional spots for Nike and Kate Spade. A Yahoo report shortly after the Bud Light spot sparked right-wing outrage and dubbed her "the influencer companies are clamoring to work with."

Mulvaney has mostly kept quiet about the Bud Light controversy but said during an interview with Rosie O'Donnell that she is an "easy target."

"The reason I think I'm an easy target is because I'm still new to this," she said. "I think going after a trans woman who has been doing this for 20 years is a lot more difficult. Maybe they think there's some sort of chance with me that they can—but I mean, what is their goal?"

Maybelline parent L'Oreal has also worked with transgender women in the past in much more in-depth capacities than it recently did with Mulvaney, including a 2017 ad campaign featuring model Hari Nef.

The boycott of Bud Light appeared to have some noticeable and immediate impact, with the brand's sales revenue dropping roughly 17 percent in the week ending April 15. However, it remains unclear whether it has had any overall impact on Anheuser-Busch, as the company's stock has risen more than 4 percent in the past month.

Newsweek reached out to Maybelline's press line via email for comment.