The consensus on social media is: Don’t come for Drew.
Drew Barrymore and transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney had a vulnerable moment on TV when they talked about dealing with hate online. In response, the actress-turned-talk-show host had an onslaught of online hate directed at her — but Barrymore’s fans weren’t into it.
“There’s so much hate and drama and things get complicated, but to meet my role models, even you today — that’s the best part,” Mulvaney said on Monday’s “Drew Barrymore Show.”
Mulvaney, a comedian and musical theater actor based in Hollywood with a resume that includes “Book of Mormon” and “Spring Awakening,” has shared her transition journey over the past year on the episodic TikTok series “Days of Girlhood.” She has more than 10 million followers on the app and sat down for a high-profile talk with President Biden in October.
“Let me ask you about the negativity, how did you deal with it?” asked Barrymore.
“I’m still reading the comments,” Mulvaney said. “But there is so much hatred against the trans community right now, it’s everywhere. And I think the best weapon that I can contribute is trans joy and comedy and talking about difficult topics, and really complicated moments of transition, and [I] try to let everyone in to see I’m not a monster, I’m not someone who tries to do anything but be myself and be happy.
Mulvaney then told Barrymore, “I look at someone like you and can’t imagine anyone disliking you.”
As the exchange turned tender, the two moved their candid conversation from the show’s pink satin armchairs to the carpet on the set of “The Drew Barrymore Show.” In a recent For Real With Amy Kaufman profile from Barrymore, 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 her show, getting down on her knees next to the still-seated Mulvaney and holding her hand. “Ironically, do you want to know who sometimes hates me the most? … myself.”
“Oh, me too,” Mulvaney sighed before sitting on the floor in front of the chairs next to Barrymore. “You asked me what I would do to fight the hate, but what are you doing? You’ve been doing it longer than I have.’
Barrymore compared receiving hate through social media to reading movie reviews. She said that regardless of the movie being criticized, there’s a 50-50 guarantee that some will love it, others won’t. “So you have to be willing to commit to it and brace yourself,” she said.
“Sometimes I think the best response can just be in the next happy video,” Mulvaney said. “Or in the next win you have, because that just shows that you’re going through and whatever those people are projecting onto you, it’s not really pervasive.”
Then Mulvaney turned to the audience and exclaimed, “I just realized I’m on the floor with Drew!” This is crazy!”
“Thanks for coming on the floor with me,” Barrymore said. “The floor always feels safer.”
But the heightened intimacy and, in particular, the fact that she sat on the floor instead of staying in her chair infuriated some social media users who put their own spin on it. Allegations were made that Barrymore was ‘kneeling’ at Mulvaney’s feet.
When tweets calling out Barrymore for “adoring” Mulvaney began flooding Twitter, her fans quickly followed suit and shot down the negative comments.
User @HeyDsLady posted a photo of Barrymore kneeling on the floor next to the seats of many previous guests, including Brendan Fraser and Tyler Perry, with the caption, “Drew Barrymore is an icon of empathy and compassion, let alone an iconic Hollywood sweetheart. Hateful people are going to spit ignorant, judgmental things no matter what. More people should be like #DrewBarrymore.”
“Drew Barrymore and Dylan Mulvaney had a tender moment of connection on television. The criticism says everything 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 embrace this transgender woman’. They will point out all the bigoted tweets about it.”