Less than a week after biological male and trans-identifying activist Dylan Mulvaney generated controversy by becoming a paid partner for Bud Light, Mulvaney has entered into a paid partnership with Nike that has the activist modeling its sports bras on social media, Fox News reported.
The decision by Anheuser-Busch — which a spokesman attributed partly to an effort to “connect” with audiences “authentically” — drew a vast array of surprised and negative responses.
Some suspected an April Fools’ Day parody; some questioned the beer maker’s connection to its customer base; many saw it as yet another effort to push trans propaganda.
Kid Rock made a video that went viral on Twitter in which he — apparently unimpressed by the beer behemoth’s commitment to authenticity — obliterated cases of Bud Light with a rifle. In lieu of a captioned link for would-be purchasers, Rock simply said, “F— Bud Light, and F— Anheuser Busch!”
It is promptly into the wake of this stir that Nike decided to dive and make its splash, and perhaps Lia Thomas was unavailable.
Fox News reported that Mulvaney posted a series of Instagram “stories” in which the trans activist appeared modeling Nike’s sports bras and announced a paid partnership with the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel. “Alert the media – I’m entering my workout era,” Mulvaney wrote in a caption, along with “#nikewomen” and “#nikepartner,” among others.
Another post featured Mulvaney bouncing about in Nike leggings and a Nike sports bra, which did indeed stay in place.
The news is sure to spark additional backlash and comic mockery, with some observers no doubt providing additional ideas for the athletic shoe behemoth. Whatever follows in the footsteps of an advertising campaign in which a male models bras certainly will have some big shoes to fill.
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