Trans influencers find it harder to get deals after Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney fiasco

Posted 16 days ago

From NYPOST.COM

Just two months ago, transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney was flying high with endorsements from Bud Light, Nike and Maybelline, to name a few. Hot off her “365 Days of Girlhood” journey on social media, she was also enjoying an elaborate musical event staged at the Rainbow Room in her honor.

That was then. But now, after the backlash against Bud Light’s decision to partner with Mulvaney on social media and feature her face on beer cans, other trans influencers say they’re feeling the heat as well.

Some told The Post that, at a time when they are usually in high demand — the period leading up to Pride Month in June — brand partnership offers are drying up.

Rose Montoya, who has 1 million followers on TikTok and Instagram, said she’s noticed a big drop-off in the number of deals she’s been offered.

Prior to Pride Month last year, Montoya — a Seattle University graduate who bills herself as a content creator, trans advocate, model and actress — was getting up to 100 brand partnerships thrown her way. Now, she said, it’s been reduced to a trickle of maybe 12 or so offers.

“Last year was my best yet,” Montoya, 27, told The Post. “I had everything — skincare brands, TV networks, advocacy groups, lots of start-ups. They all reached out. Now I’m not hearing from them.”

While she noted that “the market has also become over-saturated with influencers since 2000,” Montoya added that “the average queer creative makes all their money in June —enough to live on for the rest of the year. And the fact that there’s been a chill probably isn’t helped by the whole Bud Light thing.”

Montoya said that she can get up to $15,000 for a brand partnership. Some of her contracts are for six months at a time, and she hopes to renew one of those soon.

“One reason I still feel optimistic is that one or two deals can keep me going a long time,” she said. “I think there was a huge overreaction to the Bud Light thing and it’s part of the puzzle.”

Montoya mentioned other trans-influencer friends who are hurting for deals post-Mulvaney but only one, influencer Elle Deran, wanted to comment publicly.

Deran, an LA-based non-binary actor, singer and content creator, was hesitant to slam the Bud Light fiasco for the slowdown in brand deals she’s been offered but said she wishes the company had handled things differently.

She said her manager handles the nuts and bolts of her partnership deals, so she doesn’t know exactly how much the offers have dried up — but confirmed that there’s been a reduction.... (Read more)












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