Trans actress Dylan Mulvaney issued a public response on Sunday, July 26, after President Donald Trump referenced her during remarks at the White House Correspondents' Dinner two days earlier, where he compared her to CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins.
The 29-year-old actress posted a video to TikTok addressing the president's comments directly. Referencing a 2020 track by fellow trans artist Shea Diamond, 48, Mulvaney declared her significance and concluded her statement by blowing a kiss to the camera.
"To the president — thank you for reminding me that I am more powerful than I even knew. To quote my favorite recording artist, Shea Diamond, I am America," Mulvaney said, telling Us Weekly. "Love ya."
The president's remarks came during the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner on Friday, July 24. After Collins, 43, received recognition for her coverage of Trump's Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the 80-year-old president made the comparison.
"I thought Kaitlan had really made it big with a major new sponsorship, but then I informed that it wasn't her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney," Trump told Us Weekly, speaking to the crowd at the dinner.
In her video response, Mulvaney began by expressing admiration for Collins, stating she felt honored by any comparison to the journalist and hoped Collins would continue her work. The actress then addressed why she believed the president chose to mention her during his speech.
"The president also brought up a video I did over three years ago, and, mind you, I've been kind of flying under the radar ... doing my little musicals, singing, dancing. And yet, I'm still his hot topic of conversation all these years later. It seems to me like I might be, like, the one that got away," Mulvaney told Us Weekly, adding that she has made a lasting impression on critics of her transgender identity.
With characteristic humor, Mulvaney suggested her impact has been permanent. "I am permanently burned into their retinas, I am microchipped into their minds," she joked, speaking to Us Weekly.
Rather than expressing anger at being referenced in what she termed a presidential "diss track," Mulvaney drew an unexpected parallel to her personal life. She explained that a recent romantic disappointment had provided perspective on the situation.
"A few weeks ago, I would have probably been more upset about this, but luckily, I was ghosted last month by a hook up who I really liked, and what I realized was from that experience [was] I shouldn't want to be with someone who doesn't really want to be with me," Mulvaney told Us Weekly. "So maybe, I shouldn't want to be professionally supported by an administration that doesn't personally support me or so many others in this country."
Mulvaney reframed the president's criticism as validation, suggesting that public mockery from the administration places her alongside accomplished individuals. She questioned why her success appeared to concern those in power before arriving at her own conclusion.
"In fact, maybe being publicly mocked and criticized by this administration is actually, like, the greatest compliment of all because it puts me in the company of some of the most brilliant, empathetic people in our world today," Mulvaney told Us Weekly. "I do still wonder, like, why is it so important to them that I don't find success? What is it that I have that they don't? Oh my God, [it's] freedom."
The TikTok video followed a more subtle show of support for Collins one day prior. On Saturday, Mulvaney shared an inspirational quote via her Instagram Stories attributed to former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt — the same quote Collins posted in her own recap of the annual fundraiser celebrating the First Amendment.
The quote read: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
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Ava Hart
Ava Hart is a pop culture junkie and loves to share what's happening in Hollywood and what trends are taking the world by storm.
