TikTok influencer and transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney spoke to a small crowd during a Tuesday speaking event at Penn State University.
Mulvaney was invited by Penn State's Student Programming Association (SPA) and may have made upwards of $40,000, per the TikTok influencer's typical speaking fee. According to the Daily Mail, the event was funded by the university's student fees.
During the Tuesday event, the transgender activist discussed his experience identifying as a woman. Mulvaney also discussed his infamous sponsorship with adult beverage brand Bud Light, which resulted in a notable loss in sales for the company and Anheuser-Busch largely.
Mulvaney said the aftermath of Bud Light's sponsorship was "a hard six months" and further referred to the incident as "beergate."
"I realized that these companies were capitalizing on my identity and transness in a way that was really ugly," the TikTok influencer said of the partnership.
A photo of the event was shared by the Young America's Foundation (YAF) which depicted nearly 10 rows of empty chairs as a sparse crowd sat up front.
Several political pundits remarked on the sparse crowd including The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles, who appeared to show sympathy for the transgender activist.
"It's so brutal," Knowles wrote. "I don't even want to mock him for it."
The Daily Wire host followed up with a quote from Robert Frost: "Hell is a half-filled auditorium."
Fellow host at The Daily Wire Matt Walsh had a different perspective on the event and said Mulvaney's sparse crowd was a "total victory."Loading...
Breitbart's John Nolte jokingly said empty seats in the audience "identify as full and enthused."
Timcast owner and CEO Tim Pool commented on the notably light crowd and said the transgender activist was "not popular."
“Mulvaney is propped up by social media algorithms and gawkers who want to see a carnival side show,” Pool said in a quote post of YAF's picture. “This person is suffering but being egged on by a mob of psychos cheering as Mulvaney destroys himself.”
In early April, Mulvaney shared a video of a can of Bud Light with the transgender activist's face on it.
“Bud Light sent me possibly the best gift ever. A can with my face on it,” Mulvaney said as an image of the product appears onscreen with a caption reading “CHEERS TO 365 DAYS OF BEING A GIRL.”
A second video featured Mulvaney laying in a bubble bath with over a dozen Bud Light cans in the background. The TikTok influencer reaches for a can from behind and opens it before dancing while sitting in the tub.
