On Friday, pop singer Lady Gaga chose to celebrate International Women’s Day by honoring TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a biological male who now insists that he’s a woman. The singer is calling indignation over her decision to honor a man on a day meant for women “hatred.”
International Women’s Day started as National Women’s Day in 1909 and was organized by the Socialist Party of America. It later morphed into International Women’s Day and is meant to celebrate women’s rights.
Trouble is that no matter how many dresses he puts on and how much makeup he uses, Mulvaney is not a woman, something many pointed out when Lady Gaga honored Mulvaney.
Lady Gaga even objected to the use of the word “backlash” to describe the situation.
“It’s appalling to me that a post about National Women’s Day by Dylan Mulvaney and me would be met with such vitriol and hatred. When I see a newspaper reporting on hatred but calling it ‘backlash’ I feel it is important to clarify that hatred is hatred, and this kind of hatred is violence. ‘Backlash’ would imply that people who love or respect Dylan and me didn’t like something we did. This is not backlash. This is hatred,” the singer posted on Instagram.
X user Libs of Tik Tok called Lady Gaga’s celebration of Mulvaney “a slap in the face to real women.” Others chastised the singer’s choice to celebrate Mulvaney as “degrading to real women,” with other women suggesting that Mulvaney “quit invading our territory.”
The singer equated the anger surrounding her embrace of Mulvaney as a woman to violence.
“But it is not surprising given the immense work that it’s obvious we still have to do as a society to make room for transgender lives to be cherished and upheld by all of us. I feel very protective in this moment, not only of Dylan, but of the trans community who continues to lead the way with their endless grace and inspiration in the face of constant degradation, intolerance, and physical, verbal, and mental violence.”
The pop singer continued, “I certainly do not speak for this community, but I have something to say. I hope all women will come together to honor us ALL for International Women’s Day, and may we do that always until THE DAY that all women are celebrated equally. That all people are celebrated equally. A day where people of all gender identities are celebrated on whichever holiday speaks to them. Because people of all gender identities and races deserve peace and dignity.”
Mulvaney single-handedly destroyed the Bud Light brand when the beer chose to partner with the transgender icon in 2023. Industry insiders estimate that the ill-fated partnership cost the brand approximately $1 billion in lost sales. Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser Busch lost 17.3 percent of its revenue in the fourth quarter.
During a recent panel discussion on “Role of Brands & Media in Fighting Hate” at SXSW, Mulvaney scolded Bud Light for not standing up to bullying.
“I could have been so integral to the solutions but they continued — I think of it like a parent, the parent doesn’t put a stop to something then they bullying can continue,” Mulvaney mused. “These brands need to step up and let people know it’s not okay.”
Mulvaney and Lady Gaga would like a world where perversion is not only tolerated, but celebrated. So far, at least some of the world is fighting back against that vision.
