Dylan Mulvaney, the 26-year-old social media sensation who rose to fame for documenting her transition journey on TikTok, won the Breakout Creator award at the 2023 Streamy Awards on Sunday. She beat out four other nominees, including viral food critic Keith Lee and roast master Drew Afualo.
In her acceptance speech, Mulvaney expressed her shock and gratitude for winning the prestigious award, which honors the best in online content creation. She also addressed the challenges and hardships she faced as a trans woman in the public eye.
“532 days ago, I made a coming-out video that turned into my ‘Days of Girlhood’ series, and my life has been changed for the better,” she said. “But on the flip side, there’s also been an extreme amount of transphobia and hate, and I know that my community is feeling it.”
She urged her fans and allies to support trans people publicly and proudly, and to stand up against discrimination and violence. She ended her speech with a cheeky reference to the Bud Light controversy that sparked hateful comments from conservative media personalities earlier this year.
“I’m gonna go have a beer and I love ya,” she said, holding up her trophy.
Mulvaney’s meteoric rise to fame and activism
Mulvaney started her TikTok account in March 2022, with a video titled “day one of being a girl”. Since then, she has amassed over 10 million followers and nearly half a billion likes on the platform. She has also branched out into acting, music, and modeling, appearing on the Grammys red carpet and visiting the White House to speak with the president.
Mulvaney’s content is a mix of humor, beauty, fashion, and personal stories. She often shares her experiences as a trans woman, such as dealing with dysphoria, dating, surgery, and hormones. She also educates her audience about trans issues and advocates for trans rights.
In January 2023, Mulvaney partnered with Bud Light to promote their new seltzer lemonade. In a video captioned “trans people like beer too”, she said she was excited to work with a brand that supported diversity and inclusion. However, the video received backlash from some conservative commentators, who accused Bud Light of being “woke” and Mulvaney of being “mentally ill”.
Mulvaney responded to the criticism with grace and courage, saying that she was proud of who she was and that she would not let the haters bring her down. She also thanked her fans for their support and love.
The Streamy Awards celebrate online content creators
The Streamy Awards are an annual event that recognizes the best in online video content across various platforms, genres, and categories. The awards are presented by Tubefilter and Dick Clark Productions, in partnership with YouTube.
The 13th edition of the Streamy Awards was held at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on Sunday night. The show was hosted by MatPat, the creator of The Game Theorists YouTube channel. The show featured performances by Meghan Trainor, Nessa Barrett, jxdn, Tai Verdes, and more.
Some of the other winners of the night were:
- MrBeast (Creator of the Year)
- Challenge Accepted by Michelle Khare (Show of the Year)
- Kai Cenat (Streamer of the Year)
- ibai (International)
- Chris Olsen (Short Form)
- Fanum (Breakout Streamer)
- MrBeast and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Collaboration)
- Invisible People (Creator for Social Good)
- Prime by Logan Paul x KSI (Creator Product)
- Jonas Brothers (Crossover)
- Ryan Trahan (First Person)
- Quackity (Just Chatting)
- IShowSpeed (Variety Streamer)
- Gawr Gura (Vtuber)
- Made You Look by Meghan Trainor (Rolling Stone Sound of the Year)