Candace Owens has accused Drew Barrymore of engaging in “desperate behavior” during her interview with transgender TikTok content creator Dylan Mulvaney.
During Monday’s episode of the The Drew Barrymore Show, Mulvaney spoke candidly about the backlash that has been directed toward the trans community. She told Barrymore how she plans to support those facing criticism.
“I think the greatest weapon I can contribute is trans joy and comedy and talking about hard subjects and really intricate moments of a transition,” Mulvaney said. “And try to let everybody in to see that I’m not a monster. I’m not somebody that is anything but trying to be myself and be happy.”
At one point, Charlie’s Angels star Barrymore appeared emotional as she leaned toward Mulvaney and held her hand.
“It’s interesting because I look at someone like you, and I can’t imagine anyone disliking you,” Mulvaney said to Barrymore as the interview continued.
Barrymore left her chair and got on her knees while clutching Mulvaney’s hands as she replied: “Oh, please. Do you want to know, ironically, who dislikes me the most sometimes? Myself.”
Mulvaney said that she has felt that way about herself as she hugged Barrymore and joined her on the floor of the New York City studio.
A clip of the interview has circulated on social media. It has been met with praise from fans but derision from a number of conservative commentators.
“WTF is this goofy s***,” tweeted Blaze TV host Sara Gonzales, to which Owens replied: “This made me so unbelievably uncomfortable to watch.
“In absolutely zero context anywhere is this not entirely awkward and desperate behavior. Even if it were two women, this is simply not how adults behave.”
This made me so unbelievably uncomfortable to watch.
In absolutely zero context anywhere is this not entirely awkward and desperate behavior.
Even if it were two women, this is simply not how adults behave. https://t.co/e24JMpJHXk
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) March 14, 2023
Newsweek has reached out to representatives of Barrymore via email for comment.
Owens has commented unfavorably about transgender people in the past, advocating for discrimination against the community back in December.
Speaking on an episode of the Candace Owens podcast, the conservative commentator discussed how people discriminate in everyday life. Owens gave a few examples of her own, including whom she would befriend and hire.
“I definitely discriminate against men that paint their nails and wear dresses. I don’t really care how you feel about that,” she said. “You can wear your dress and you can paint your nails, but I’d prefer you keeping 100 feet away from a playground and all of the feet away from my children and me. If I see you, I’m going to cross the street if I’m with my kids.”
During the podcast episode, titled “Why Some People Deserve to Be Discriminated Against,” Owens then mocked those who might suggest that she needs to be “more accepting of men who like to wear panties.”
“I’m good,” Owens said. “You can be more accepting of it. You run that risk when you see a guy that looks like a freak and you’re with your children and say, ‘To be accepting, I’m gonna put my kids next to him.’ I am not going to be that person. I’m gonna go, ‘That looks weird,’ and I’m gonna move away from it. It’s that simple.”
Mulvaney, who has gained more than 10 million followers on TikTok, this week shared a video of herself teasing a kiss with Barrymore following their interview. The brief clip has been viewed almost 5 million times.
The influencer has been documenting her transition over the past year. She garnered much attention on social media after speaking with President Joe Biden at the White House in October about trans-related healthcare.
A TikTok video soon resurfaced of the trans-rights activist seeking to “normalize women having bulges.” She recalled being stared at by strangers whenever she went out in tight clothing.
Criticising the video, Caitlyn Jenner, who transitioned to female in 2015, tweeted: “Let’s not ‘normalize’ any of what this person is doing. This is absurdity!”
A Twitter user replied that she often had a bulge issue as somebody who was “born a woman” with a “naturally plump vagina.” Jenner then said of Mulvaney: “He is talking about his penis!”
While Jenner’s comments received backlash, the erstwhile California gubernatorial candidate remained steadfast in her criticism of Mulvaney.
“There is a difference between acceptance and tolerance, and normalizing exposing your genitals in a public way and a public place,” Jenner, who underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2017, wrote in another tweet. “I do not support that at all, in the slightest. Dylan…congrats [you’re] trans with a penis.”
Mulvaney responded to Jenner in a TikTok post. She said that she wasn’t particularly bothered by Jenner’s initial criticism, though she took issue with being called “he” by the Olympic gold medalist.
“Not you calling me a ‘he.’ That is just terrible… but then you didn’t stop there,” Mulvaney said in the clip.
She then spoke about Jenner’s characterization of her video as “normalizing exposing your genitals in a public way and a public place.”
“Girl, you’re making me sound like I’m some creepy flasher exposing myself,” Mulvaney said. “I was wearing perfectly normal shorts at a mall, and I never been great with sarcasm, but I do think that last line was probably not an actual congrats.”
Mulvaney then asked Jenner to “think back to your early days of transitioning and remember being embarrassed about your body, or having strangers give you dirty looks.
“That’s why I made that video because I was embarrassed and I wanted to reclaim my body in a positive way,” Mulvaney added. “Now, you’ve taken that and turned it into something really ugly.”
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