The actress and LGBTQ+ activist gained viral fame with her Days of Girlhood TikTok series, which documented her gender transition and drew more than 1 billion views. “Whether somebody’s trans or not, I just hope they can watch my videos and feel inspired to unlock a new part of them- selves,” she says. Mulvaney, who was named a 2023 Forbes Top Creator and raked in an estimated $2 million in earnings last year, found herself at the center of an unexpected political crossfire after Bud Light paid her to post a video featuring a custom beer with her face on the can, sparking a widespread boycott of the brand. Nevertheless, she has landed partnerships with companies like Nike and MAC and has urged brands to go beyond “just inclusive marketing” to stand up for what’s right. Last year, she sat down with President Joe Biden to discuss trans rights; this year, she won Breakout Creator of the Year at the Streamy Awards, akin to the Oscars of the internet. “I always want my followers to know it’s because of them that I’m in those rooms,” says Mulvaney, who is now represented by Creative Artists Agency.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 Dylan, thank you so much for being here today.
00:05 - Thank you.
00:05 Hi Forbes, this is amazing.
00:07 - So tell me about what inspired
00:09 your Days of Girlhood videos
00:11 and for everyone who doesn't know,
00:12 can you please explain what they are
00:14 and what they turned into?
00:15 - Sure, Days of Girlhood was sort of a video series
00:19 that I started because I was at the beginning
00:22 of my transition and I was looking
00:24 to all these iconic trans women,
00:26 but not knowing how to get from point A to point B.
00:30 And I thought, okay, well why not, you know,
00:32 take my followers along on this journey?
00:35 And it was originally supposed to just sort of be like,
00:37 comedy, it was supposed to be lighthearted and fun.
00:40 And I think over this last year,
00:42 I found a lot of vulnerability and depth
00:44 that I didn't even know was there.
00:47 And it's been really beautiful and also hard at times,
00:50 but I don't regret anything.
00:52 - As a creative, what's it been like for you
00:55 to then shift from that creative mindset
00:57 into the business side of things,
01:00 sponsored posts and promotions and things like that?
01:02 - I think I'm becoming a bit of a business woman.
01:05 As much as I love the creative side,
01:08 I love getting smarter.
01:10 I wanna know everything and I wanna know how it all works.
01:13 I'm really interested, not, you know,
01:15 of course being in front of the camera,
01:16 but I love the idea of producing.
01:19 And I just, I think, why not learn it all?
01:24 - Now, I think for me and for a lot of people,
01:26 because you are so social media forward
01:28 and you're so out there,
01:29 a lot of people kind of view you as the spokesperson
01:32 for the trans community.
01:34 Did you set out to do that when you started these videos?
01:37 - Oh no, I never wanted or intended to be a spokesperson
01:42 for the community.
01:43 And I think I just ask for grace
01:46 as I'm learning so many things in navigating this,
01:49 not only transness, but also this newfound success.
01:53 It's happened really fast.
01:54 And I think that's what's so crazy about social media
01:57 is I think it kind of launches people at a rate
02:00 that not a lot of other mainstream media does or can.
02:04 And I really am now looking to sort of not take a backseat.
02:09 I wanna stay really active in my advocacy work,
02:12 but I wanna decide when, where, and how
02:15 I'm gonna show up as an activist.
02:17 (upbeat music)
02:21 - Switching back to the business a little bit.
02:22 - Sure.
02:23 - What is the one business rule
02:25 that you operate by no matter what?
02:27 - Oh, I love this.
02:29 My agent, Stephanie, she always says,
02:31 "Don't react, respond."
02:33 And so if something happens in my life,
02:35 I often will either at least sleep on it,
02:38 but sometimes it's taking a few extra days
02:40 to really make sure that I'm not coming out
02:43 of a place of anger or anxiety or frustration
02:47 and that it's purely who I am and can operate
02:50 on a really neutral level.
02:52 (upbeat music)
02:53 - You were in the spotlight earlier this year
02:56 after there was some backlash with the sponsored posts.
02:59 Has this experience affected
03:01 who you partner with going forward?
03:03 - Absolutely.
03:04 I now realize that when I work with a brand
03:07 that they will forever be a part of my story.
03:10 And so I wanna make sure we're on the same page
03:12 going forward and I want there to be a message
03:15 that I can pass on to the next generation
03:17 of brands that are going forward.
03:19 And I want there to be a mutual respect
03:22 and not only for me, but for my community.
03:24 - Speaking of that, one stat that I love
03:26 to bring up all the time is that the LGBTQ+ community
03:29 has nearly $4 trillion in global purchasing power.
03:32 - We've got the purchasing power.
03:33 - Exactly.
03:34 Yet brands are still shying away
03:37 from LGBTQ+ representation.
03:39 What would you say to brands that are despite this fact?
03:42 - I would say, well, that's a disappointment
03:44 because I don't think that there are brands
03:48 that are interested in working with someone like me,
03:50 but maybe don't know how to,
03:53 or nervous to get involved or ask the wrong thing.
03:57 And I say, let's figure it out together.
03:59 Let's have these hard conversations
04:00 because if we don't,
04:02 then something beautiful can't come from it.
04:04 (upbeat music)
04:07 - What do you want your legacy to be?
04:09 - Oh, I think I would like my legacy
04:14 to be this sort of idea of like celebrity 2.0.
04:18 Like how can we live in the spotlight
04:20 and have a large following,
04:23 but try to do it in a way that feels like the kindest,
04:28 most grounded, fun, silly,
04:32 empathetic, vulnerable way possible.
04:34 And I don't know if that can exist yet.
04:36 I'm still figuring that out.
04:38 And I think there's certain circumstances
04:41 where I might get pushed back on that,
04:43 but I wanna see if we can do it differently.
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