The social media consensus is here: don’t come for Drew.
Drew Barrymore and TikTok transgender star Dylan Mulvaney had a moment of vulnerability on TV when they spoke about the fight against online hate. In response, the actor-turned-daytime talk show host received an onslaught of hate online, but Barrymore fans didn’t get it.
“There’s so much hate and drama and things get convoluted, but meeting my role models, even you today – that’s the best part,” Mulvaney said on Monday’s “Drew Barrymore Show”.
Mulvaney, a Hollywood-based comedian and musical theater actress with a resume that includes “Book of Mormon” and “Spring Awakening,” shared her transition journey over the past year on the TikTok episodic series “Days of Girlhood. “. She has more than 10 million subscribers on the app and in October sat down for a high profile chat with President Biden.
“Let me ask you about the negativity, how did you deal with that?” Barrymore asked.
“I always read the comments,” Mulvaney said. “But there’s so much hate directed at the trans community right now, it’s everywhere. And I think the best weapon I can bring is trans joy and trans comedy and talking about tough topics, and really complex moments of a transition, and [I] try to let everyone in to see that i’m not a freak, i’m not someone trying to do anything but be myself and be happy.
Mulvaney then told Barrymore, “I look at someone like you and I can’t imagine anyone not liking you.”
Then, as the exchange grew tender, the two moved their candid conversation from the show’s pink satin armchairs to the rug on the set of “The Drew Barrymore Show.” In a recent Barrymore For Real With Amy Kaufman profile, the “ET” star told The Times that kneeling or sitting on the floor next to her guests is a personal preference.
“Oh please,” Barrymore said on his show, kneeling next to the still seated Mulvaney and holding her hand. “Do you want to know, ironically, who hates me the most sometimes? … Myself.”
“Oh, me too,” Mulvaney said with a sigh before joining Barrymore on the floor in front of the chairs. “You asked me what I would do to fight hate, but what are you doing? You’ve been doing it a little longer than me.
Barrymore compared receiving hate via social media to reading movie reviews. She said that no matter which film is reviewed, there’s a 50-50 guarantee that some will like it, some won’t. “So you have to be prepared to persevere and be prepared,” she said.
“Sometimes I think the biggest response can just be in the next happy video,” Mulvaney said. “Or in the next win you have, because it just shows you keep going and whatever these people are projecting on you, it’s not really penetrating.”
Then Mulvaney turned to the audience and exclaimed, “I just realized I’m sitting on the floor with Drew! It’s crazy!”
“Thank you for joining me on the floor,” Barrymore said. “The ground is always safer.”
But the increased privacy and, more specifically, sitting on the floor rather than staying in one’s chair outraged some social media users who gave the moment their own spin. Accusations have been made that Barrymore was “kneeling” at Mulvaney’s feet.
When tweets calling out Barrymore for “adoring” Mulvaney began flooding Twitter, his fans quickly followed, shooting down the negative comments.
User @HeyDsLady posted a photo of Barrymore kneeling on the floor next to the chairs of many previous guests, including Brendan Fraser and Tyler Perry, with the legend“Drew Barrymore is an icon of empathy and compassion, not to mention an iconic Hollywood lover. Hateful people are going to puke ignorant, judgmental s no matter what. More people should be like #DrewBarrymore.
“Drew Barrymore and Dylan Mulvaney had a tender moment of connection on TV. The review says it all about the small minds of transphobes and nothing about the big hearts of Drew and Dylan,” said multimedia journalist Alex Berg. tweeted.
And writer Brian Krassenstein tweeted“No one will ever look back 50 years from now and say ‘How dare Drew Barrymore kiss this transgender woman’. They will, however, flag any bigoted tweets about it.