Move over Senator Marsha Blackburn. Transgender Olympian Caitlyn Jenner also has some things to say about trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney. On Wednesday afternoon, Jenner echoed an earlier tweet from Blackburn, calling a video from Mulvaney “absurdity.” A failed gubernatorial candidate and vocal supporter of all things Republican, Jenner praised the Senator, thanking her for “speaking out and having a backbone.” The comments are especially surprising since Jenner has said in the past that hatred for trans people who don’t pass, or look visibly transgender is “something that needs to change.”
The comment from the Tennessee Senator, who Taylor Swift once called “Trump in a wig,” come days after Mulvaney interviewed President Joe Biden as part of a “Now This” political series. During the talk, Biden told Mulvaney that states banning trans health care were wrong as a “moral question and as a legal question.” Following the interview, several right-wing figures began to search through Mulvaney’s older videos, landing on a clip where the influencer discussed normalizing different body types.
In the clip Blackburn found so absurd, Mulvaney spoke about people staring at her crotch when she wore tight clothes and said people should just normalize “women having bulges,” instead of staring in public. “Normalize the bulge,” she sang. “We are normalizing the bulge. Women can have bulges and that’s ok. We’re not gonna stare at their crotches.”
A trans activist and influencer, Mulvaney has over 8.4 million followers on TikTok. While she’s been an influencer for several years, her account and following grew with the success of her series “Days of Girlhood.” Beginning in March 2022, Mulvaney’s series opens with her saying “It’s day… of being a girl” and includes daily clips that document her transition. Mulvaney is well known for her exuberant videos discussing how transness interacts with everyday things like doctor visits, fashion, and dating — inviting her followers to come along with her as she learns more about being a woman. This isn’t the first public backlash against the influencer’s rising star. Earlier this month, several customers of the beauty retail chain Ulta started a #boycottUlta hashtag after Mulvaney appeared on an Ulta-branded podcast.
‘I started making videos on here to spread joy, not to be constantly defending myself,” Mulvaney said in a video about the protest. “Can’t we just have some fun on here people?”
Apparently, Republicans might be allergic to Mulvaney’s type of fun. And it isn’t just Blackburn who’s upset at the influencers messaging. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted a clip from the interview, calling Mulvaney a “fake” woman.
Jenner and Blackburn did not respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
It’s no surprise that Republican leaders are targeting a trans activist who was hosted at the White House. In several states, the Republican party is in the midst of an aggressive legislative push to ban transgender healthcare and participation in sports under the guise of protecting women and children. Throughout her tenure, Blackburn has also been extremely vocal about her beliefs that trans women are not real women — attacking trans athletes like University of Pennsylvania athlete swimmer Lia Thomas for allegedly having an unfair advantage against her fellow competitors. But that doesn’t seem to bother the former athlete, as Jenner has continually reaffirmed that her identity as a trans woman doesn’t change her Republican-leaning belief system. Maybe that’s why Fox News hired her.