Nike on Wednesday became the latest big-name company to face pushback from social media users for partnering with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Mulvaney unveiled her paid partnership with Nike on Wednesday in several posts to Instagram, where she wore some of the company’s activewear, including pants and a sports bra.
“Alert the media — I’m entering my workout era,” Mulvaney, a transgender woman, wrote in a caption for her 2 million followers to see.
Each of the Instagram Stories is labeled on the platform as paid partnerships, which the social media site says “means that the person who shared it has a commercial relationship with the business partner that’s mentioned, and that they were compensated in some way for the post.”
Social media users had strong feelings about the Mulvaney-and-Nike collaboration, which came on the heels of her partnership with Bud Light that sparked a similar outcry.
“Nike is now sponsoring the transgender activist, Dylan Mulvaney. Stop buying Nike. Pass it on,” conservative commentator Evan Kilgore tweeted.
“@Nike just came out as HATING actual women,” tweeted James Bradley, a GOP political candidate in California. “THIS is what TRUE misogyny looks like.”
“In case you needed another reason not to buy @nike products,” another user tweeted as they showed one of the videos Mulvaney posted, while someone else tweeted, in part, “This is a slap in the face for all women!”
But not all comments criticized Nike.
“BREAKING: Nike is now paying Transgender star Dylan Mulvaney as a brand ambassador,” liberal Brian Krassenstein tweeted.
“This follows her steady rise to fame, thanks in part to a lot of talent, a great personality and Conservatives not being able to stop talking about canceling anyone who works with her.”
