Caitlyn Jenner slams Nike for using Dylan Mulvaney to promote brand

‘This is an outrage!’ Caitlyn Jenner slams ‘woke’ Nike for using trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney to promote brand – and hits out at company’s ‘treatment’ of Allyson Felix when she became pregnant

Caitlyn Jenner has slammed ‘woke’ Nike for using trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney to promote its sports bras – as the global backlash against the brand intensifies.

Mulvaney, 26, posed for a series of pictures and videos promoting the brand’s sports bra and leggings – Mulvaney identifies as a woman and uses the pronouns ‘she/they’ but has not yet had gender reassignment surgery.

Former Olympic champion and transgender reality star Jenner, 73, who has been an open opponent of trans females that were born male competing in female sports – slammed Nike’s decision as an ‘outrage’ in tweets on Thursday.

She wrote: ‘As someone that grew up in awe of what [Nike founder and former CEO] Phil Knight did, it is a shame to see such an iconic American company go so woke!

‘We can be inclusive but not at the expense of the mass majority of people, and have some decency while being inclusive. This is an outrage.”

Fury: Caitlyn Jenner has slammed ‘woke’ Nike for using trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney to promote its sports bras – as the global backlash against the brand intensifies (pictured 2022)

Post: Mulvaney, 26, posed for a series of pictures and videos promoting the brand’s sports bra and leggings – Mulvaney identifies as a woman and uses the pronouns ‘she/they’ but has not yet had gender reassignment surgery 

She added that she didn’t blame Mulvaney for accepting the deal, saying: ‘A little context…I did a collab with H&M (I have done many athletic brand collabs over the years as a successful athlete). I don’t blame Dylan (smart move). 

‘I did not like how Nike treated Allyson Felix when she became pregnant. I spoke on the outrage of disparity in their pay’

Ten-time Olympic medallist Felix left Nike in 2019 after it failed to guarantee the value of her contract when she became pregnant, she alleges. 

Felix is the most decorated US track and field athlete in history, but said she felt ‘frustrated’ in 2018 by the reaction of her then sponsor Nike to the news of her pregnancy.She now has a daughter, Camryn.

Felix had been working with Nike for almost a decade when she became pregnant, but claimed that they ‘weren’t willing’ to support her ‘through starting a family’.

Writing in a New York Times op-ed at the time, she said: ‘I’ve been to four Olympics, I’ve had the successes, and my value is still not being seen.

‘Even after becoming a mum, I still had that desire to run, I still knew I was capable.

‘But I was left without shoes to wear at the Tokyo Olympics, which is not ideal for a runner.’ Nike hasn’t commented on her claims.

Former Olympic champion and transgender reality star Jenner, 73, who has been an open opponent of trans females that were born male competing in female sports – slammed Nike’s decision as an ‘outrage’ in tweets on Thursday

Ten-time Olympic medallist Felix left Nike in 2019 after it failed to guarantee the value of her contract when she became pregnant, she alleges (pictured 2022 with her daughter)

Jenner also tweeted: ‘EQUALITY > INCLUSIVITY (STOP TRYING TO ERASE WOMEN). The differences between men and women are real and are a good thing! It doesn’t make trans ppl a bad thing, either. Why is it so black and white with the RADICAL RAINBOW MAFIA?!’

Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies is leading a boycott of Nike for its partnership with Mulvaney.

Nike has doubled down on using a transgender influencer to promote its female clothes, telling customers calling for a boycott to ‘be kind and inclusive’.

The firm’s tone-deaf response came amid women’s concerns over Mulvaney, who identifies as female but has not had reassignment surgery.

Nike issued its first response online, declaring it would delete comments it did not judge to be in a spirit of diversity or inclusivity.

It insisted: ‘You are an essential component to the success of your community.

‘We welcome comments that contribute to a positive and constructive discussion.

‘Be kind. Be inclusive. Encourage each other. Hate speech, bullying, or other behaviors that are not in the spirit of a diverse and inclusive community will be deleted.’

It is not the first time that Nike has partnered with a trans star in their marketing, in 2021, they launched their ‘Play New’ campaign with Mara Gomez, who plays in Argentina’s professional football league.

Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies has criticised Nike’s decision to partner with Dylan Mulvaney to promote its female sports clothing range

It is not the first time that Nike has partnered with a trans star in their marketing, in 2021, they launched their ‘Play New’ campaign with Mara Gomez, who plays in Argentina’s professional football league.

The controversy could impact sales, which had received a huge boost in recent months from stars like Lioness Chloe Kelly being seen wearing their products.

She famously whipped off her shirt to celebrate scoring in England’s World Cup win, revealing her sports bra with the famous black tick logo.

Davies, who won silver for Team GB in the 400m individual medley at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, said the move was a ‘step’ back after several sports bodies moved to give biological women their own protected category in competitions.

‘It’s so frustrating. We take two steps forward with World Athletics and Swim England protecting women’s sport and then Nike does this,’ she told Dan Wootton Tonight on GB News.

‘The ad feels like a parody of what women are. In the past it was always seen as an insult to say, ‘run like a girl’ and here we’ve got someone behaving in a way that’s very un-sporty and very unathletic and it’s so frustrating when only 1 per cent of USA sponsorship dollar goes to females in sport.

That Nike would do this feels like a kick in the teeth.’

Advocating a boycott, she said: ‘We can protest. It’s what is left for us at the moment. No one seems to be listening.

‘The only way we can make these companies and governments sit up and listen is to boycott with our wallet.

‘It’s the only thing they listen to.’

Ms Davies argued it was not possible for a biological male to effectively promote products, such as bras, which have to work for women’s bodies.

She replied: ‘Dylan is advertising sports bras when there’s nothing to put in the sports bra – when actually it’s really important women get proper support when they do sport. It just doesn’t make sense.

‘For a long time, Nike sponsored Allyson Felix, one of the world’s most incredible track athletes. Then, when Allyson got pregnant, they reduced her sponsorship by 70 per cent when she had something happen to her that happens only to women.

‘Women are being treated with total disdain at the moment, particularly in the world of sport where physiology makes so much difference.’

In January this year, Mulvaney recorded gruelling ‘facial feminisation’ surgery, which saw facial bones sliced off and sanded down to give a softer, more womanly appearance.

Mulvaney’s lucrative tie up with Bud Light – which included videos of her drinking cans of beer in the bath – led some of its customers to say they’d no longer purchase the beer

And in March 2021 Mulvaney she announced to her followers that she was a girl, although has not yet had gender reassignment surgery.

After the internet star’s 365th day of ‘living authentically’, US Vice President Kamala Harris wrote an anniversary letter to congratulate the milestone.

In the latest Nike posts on Instagram, Ms Mulvaney appeared wearing a pair of black leggings and a white sports bra to strike yoga poses in a sunny backyard.

The video then showed the star dancing around in a yard barefoot doing workouts while an upbeat song played.

Some people on social media expressed their anger at Nike’s decision to partner with Ms Mulvaney.

One wrote: ‘I really used to enjoy Nike as a brand but I will never wear another shoe from them after they feature Dylan Mulvaney as their new ambassador for women’s clothing.’

Meanwhile, Caitlyn Jenner accused the brand of ‘erasing women’.

But others praised her adverts, writing: ‘How can someone be this majestic and gorgeous?’

It is unclear how much Mulvaney was paid for the posts, but some social media insiders suggest it could be roughly £40,000 ($50,000) per post. 

Ms Mulvaney was previously criticised for carrying around Tampax after the company sent out a PR package.

Mulvaney responded by saying: ‘I just sometimes carry one in case anybody needs it.’

 Mulvaney’s Nike posts came days after a Bud Light tie up, which included several pictures and videos of the beer shared to Instagram.

That also triggered a backlash, with some people saying they would no longer drink the beer or buy other products owned by its parent company, Anheuser Busch. Singer Kid Rock even shared an angry video of himself shooting a case of Bud Light with an automatic rifle.

Mulvaney had announced the partnership in a series of videos posted to social media at the weekend to coincide with the NCAA March Madness tournament.

Mac cosmetics posted a photo of Mulvaney to its Instagram page to celebrate Pride in 2022

Brands including Maybelline, Ole Henriksen, Kate Spade and Native Deodorant have also paid to be promoted on the star’s socials.

Ultra Beauty, an American beauty chain, featured Mulvaney on their podcast in October last year, which attracted criticism.

The influencer seemed unfazed about it, declaring on TikTok: ‘So apparently I’ve caused a boycott of a very large retail chain simply for being trans which I’m just not really in the mood to address.

Maybe I will eventually but I started making videos on here to spread joy not to be, like, constantly defending myself.’

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