Nike backs LGBTQ+ community as transphobes cry over Dylan Mulvaney wearing leggings
Nike responds to backlash over Dylan Mulvaney sponsored Instagram post. (Instagram @dylanmulvaney)
As anti-trans haters continue to weep and threaten Nike with boycotts over TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney’s sponsored Instagram post, the sports brand has responded in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
In an Instagram comment of their own, Nike encouraged users to be “kind” and “inclusive”, and set boundaries about the presence of “hate speech” and “bullying” on its page.
On Thursday (6 April), influencer and Broadway actor Mulvaney shared a series of photos to her 1.7 million followers on Instagram, showing her in Nike Women’s leggings and sports bra. The post is marked as a paid partnership and features Mulvaney relaxing and doing a yoga pose.
The transphobic backlash was immediate, with Olympian Sharron Davies describing Mulvaney’s partnership as a “kick in the teeth” in an insulting GB News segment that misgendered Mulvaney, and Instagram users flooding Nike and Mulvaney’s comments with threats of boycott.
Republican trans woman and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner also weighed in on Mulvaney’s advert, calling it an “outrage”, blasting Nike for being “woke” and criticising the “double standard” of Nike gifting Mulvaney with leggings and a bra after reportedly slashing the sponsorship pay of Olympian Allyson Felix when she became pregnant.
Both Nike and Mulvaney’s Instagram posts have been flooded with hateful transphobic comments.
However, Nike has broken its silence over the anti-trans furore, leaving a comment on its own Instagram grid post featuring the Pegasus 40 shoe on Friday (7 April) that promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion.
It reads: ”You are an essential component to the success of your community! We welcome comments that contribute to a positive and constructive discussion: Be kind [heart emoji] Be inclusive [heart emoji] Encourage each other [heart emoji]
“Hate speech, bullying, or other behaviours that are not in the spirit of a diverse and inclusive community will be deleted.”
Dylan Mulvaney is best known for her ‘days of girlhood’ TikTok series, where she has documented her transition for the past year.
Among those promising to boycott the sportswear brand over Mulvaney’s leggings is Labour MSP Pauline McNeill, who tweeted “no more @nikestore for me” in response to a tweet from Holyrood Magazine editor Mandy Rhodes, the National reported on Friday.
Rhodes’ quote tweet reads “they’re just laughing at us” and is displayed over another post that repeatedly misgenders Mulvaney.
In another comment on Rhodes’ Twitter post, Conservative MSP Sue Webber wrote: “Yip! As a woman who does (did!) play sport and now loves gym classes, this absolutely infuriates me. Women do not behave like this when exercising – ever!”
In encouraging kindness on Instagram, Nike has been accused of “patronising” women and trying to shove the horror of “inclusiveness” [sic] down customers’ throats.
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