The producers of Broadway’s Six: The Musical have come to the defense of trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney in the wake of anti-trans backlash to the announcement that Mulvaney will soon join the show’s cast.

Starting February 16, Mulvaney will play Anne Boleyn, the second, ultimately beheaded wife of English King Henry VIII in the popular show featuring all six of the monarch’s wives.

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“The producers of Six have chosen to temporarily limit access to the Broadway production’s X account following a number of comments made in response to recent Broadway casting news, which we felt crossed the line into bullying,” reads a statement provided to Playbill.

“The protection, safety, and support of the Six cast has always been, and remains, our highest priority.”

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The producers went on to encourage “passionate engagement” with the production but said it is “never acceptable” to use threatening or abusive language.

“As a production, we unequivocally condemn bullying in all its forms and remain committed to fostering a respectful, supportive environment for everyone involved,” they continued. “We are incredibly excited to welcome our incoming Broadway cast, and we cannot wait to see them take to the stage.”

Mulvaney, who rose to stardom with her viral “Days of Girlhood” series chronicling her transition, is no stranger to backlash. The influencer was the lightning rod at the center of the 2023 Bud Light boycott.

Mulvaney sparked outrage when she partnered with Bud Light for a 50-second Instagram video. The company put Mulvaney’s face on a beer can that appeared in Mulvaney’s video, and the far right lost its mind. The brand refused to stand by Mulvaney, though, putting out a statement saying that it “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” adding, “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”

This wishy-washy behavior resulted in boycotts of the brand from both LGBTQ+ and anti-LGBTQ+ customers alike, resulting in Bud Light losing its top spot among beer brands.

The Six team, on the other hand, clearly knew that casting Mulvaney would also mean staunchly standing by her side in the face of hate. “Show some royal love to Queen Dylan Mulvaney, who will be joining the #SIXBroadway 5.0 cast as Anne Boleyn,” they joyfully announced last week.

The musical retells the wives’ lives as a modern pop concert. The historical reimagining of the women’s tales won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Original Score.

Posting about the casting, Mulvaney shared: “YAY BROADWAY! so happy my bway debut is playing a fellow polarizing woman in this perfect musical next month I hope you will all come watch me live my dream I am SO HAPPY I CANT STOP SMILING.”

Then came a deluge of transphobic comments and hate. “A man is playing a woman in a musical about celebrating women and ‘girl power’. Can’t make this up,” posted notorious anti-trans troll Chaya Raichik at Libs of TikTok, misgendering Mulvaney.

“They’ve made Anne Boleyn trans. You know, Anne Boleyn. The British queen who was slandered by her abusive husband and then beheaded because she gave birth to a girl. Yeah, that Anne Boleyn,” posted another aggrieved bigot. “She’s being played by a person with a penìs.”

To be clear, the playwrights didn’t “turn Boleyn trans”; they merely cast a trans actress to play Boleyn’s cisgender character.

The producers are also not the only ones who have come to the defense of Mulvaney, who began her career as a theater performer in the national tour of The Book of Mormon.

“Let’s not pretend these people care about Six,” wrote Chris Peterson, founder of OnStage Blog. “They didn’t care yesterday. They didn’t care last week. They didn’t care when the show opened, or toured, or cast understudies, or swapped queens. They were nowhere to be found when women of color led the cast. They weren’t losing sleep over historical accuracy when Anne Boleyn was singing like a Spice Girl.”

“But the second Mulvaney, a trans woman, gets cast? Oh now Broadway is sacred ground. Now casting ‘matters.’ Now they’re suddenly defenders of art, womanhood, tradition, and whatever other concept they found on a meme that morning,” Peterson continued. “Give me a break.”

Writer Aly Gibbs mocked the bigots on trans news site Assigned Media. “If you fall into the… camp of apoplectically enraged twerps, I have bad news for you… not only is Mulvaney scheduled to continue existing, she seems to be daring to thrive,” Gibbs wrote.

“She has every right to pursue her joy, and so do all trans people, despite what the powers that be want us to believe.”

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