Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says the intense backlash over her 2023 partnership with Bud Light left her feeling frightened that online anger could turn into real-world harm.

Speaking Tuesday on Reclaiming, hosted by Monica Lewinsky, Mulvaney revisited the controversy often called "Beergate."

She explained that the beer company had sent her custom cans featuring her face to celebrate her "365 Days of Girlhood" series after what she described as "a really big bidding war between two big companies."

Soon after the promotion went public, conservative commentators and country music figures criticized the campaign and called for a boycott.

One of the most viral moments came when singer Kid Rock posted a video of himself shooting cases of Bud Light with a rifle while shouting insults at the brand and its parent company.

Mulvaney said the backlash at first seemed "humorous." But that feeling changed as the reaction grew louder online, Yahoo reported.

"What ended up happening was the far-right media and the powers that be that decided to make that America's biggest problem of the moment, which was, 'Why is a trans person on a can of beer?'" Mulvaney said.

She added that her concern was not about public figures themselves, but about how their messages might influence others.

"But then, what got scary was, like, real people that were then potentially influenced by that person or that content," she said.

"And that's what I find really fascinating about some of the far right's content ... that then leads actual people to actual violence."

Dylan Mulvaney Says She Feared Influenced Followers

Mulvaney stressed she was not afraid of a celebrity showing up at her home. "I was scared of the people that listened to that [person]," she explained.

The fallout had major business effects. In January 2024, sources reported that Bud Light sales fell nearly 30% in the months after the campaign.

The brand also lost its long-held spot as America's top-selling beer, marking one of the biggest corporate culture clashes in recent years.

According to FoxNews, Mulvaney compared her experience to the misunderstood character Elphaba from the musical Wicked, based on The Wizard of Oz. She suggested that, at times, it felt like critics needed a "common enemy."

She recently faced renewed backlash after being cast as Anne Boleyn in Broadway's Six. Still, she said she would endure the storm again if it meant returning to the stage.

"If I had to go viral and find myself in a far-right media firestorm ... I would do it all over again if it meant that I got to be on stage," Mulvaney said.