Drew Barrymore has divided viewers by kneeling in front of controversial transgender star Dylan Mulvaney during a talk about online trolling.
Barrymore appeared to bow to Mulvaney, a prominent TikTok personality who recently met with President Joe Biden at the Whitehouse, during a segment of the Drew Barrymore show.
But the gesture has raised eyebrows on social media, with many pointing out that she’s “on all fours” for a star accused of downplaying womanhood with her infantile online persona.
Mulvaney often refers to herself as a “girl” rather than a woman, often referred to herself as a “bimbo” and once compared herself to a Barbie doll.
The two women were engaged in a conversation about online hate when Mulvaney told Barrymore, “It’s interesting because I’m looking at someone like you and I can’t imagine anyone disliking you.”
Drew Barrymore has divided viewers after appearing to kneel in front of transgender star Dylan Mulvaney
The pair share an embrace and discuss online trolling during a segment of Barrymore’s titular show
Barrymore responds by getting down on her knees as she says, “Oh please, do you ironically want to know who sometimes hates me the most?” Myself.’
Mulvaney then joins her on the floor and the two embrace.
Barrymore later compares the online trolls terrorizing Mulvaney to her own experiences of receiving negative movie reviews as a child star.
Many people took to Twitter to complain about the bizarre gesture, with one viewer accusing Barrymore of “fawning” over her dude.
Another said, “Drew Barrymore has been a disgrace for years. Now she kneels before the man who mocks the entire female sex.
Incredible.’
Prominent gender critic Oli London, who wrote a memoir about his journey to destransition, said, “Drew Barrymore gets on her knees to hug Dylan Mulvaney after Dylan spreads a sob story about how hard it is to be a woman!”
Twitter user Ginette Hardwick said, “Drew Barrymore kneels before the gruesome Dylan Mulvaney who caricatures ‘girlhood.’ It’s not real, Drew, none of it. Please stop being a maid.’
However, other viewers pointed out that Barrymore often kneels in front of her guests during particularly emotional interviews.
Photos shared online show the former child star kneeling in front of a litany of stars, including Kate Hudson and Hillary Clinton.
“Every time I see a clip from Drew Barrymore’s show, she is ALWAYS kneeling or sitting in front of another woman,” one viewer wrote.
Mulvaney has regularly come under fire for appearing to overly sexualize and infantilize women with her ‘Days of Girlhood’ series
Another shared several photos of the host kneeling as she wrote, “She often kneels and sits on the floor with guests.
“It’s something she does when she interviews them. Here are just a few examples.’
Much of the outcry stemmed from Mulvaney’s controversial TikTok videos that have previously come under fire for oversexualizing and infantilizing femininity.
Mulvaney was an actor and comedian living in Los Angeles when she decided to become a woman last March.
She joined TikTok in 2020 after a stint playing Elder White in the Book of Mormon on Broadway.
In March last year, she began her transition journey which earned her 10.8 million followers on TikTok.
She became such a prominent name in the transgender community that she recently met as part of a panel to discuss gender-affirming care.
But she’s not without controversy, as critics have previously labeled her hyper-feminine online persona as “offensive.”
Responding to the criticism in a clip uploaded last summer, she said, “I would consider myself hyper-feminine right now.
“Like, I feel like a bimbo. I feel like a barbie doll sometimes and I think I have to do that now for my inner child because I was never allowed to wear the pretty dresses.
“I was never able to put on the makeup. And now it’s almost like reliving my younger self.
”
She has numerous high-profile partnerships with makeup brands such as Ulta Beauty, CeraVe, and Huaslabs.
Many social media users pointed out that Barrymore often kneels in front of her guests. Pictured on her knees in front of Hillary Clinton
She also knelt in front of her friend and former co-star Kate Hudson
“Every time I see a clip from Drew Barrymore’s show, she is ALWAYS kneeling or sitting in front of another woman,” one viewer wrote. She is pictured with Queen Latifah during a recent episode
And she even got free samples from tampon brand Tampax.
Last year she was criticized for a video in which she advocated normalization of ‘women with bulges’.
Mulvaney explained how she often wore looser clothing so as not to be ashamed of her “bulge.”
But she added, “Normalize the bulge.” We normalize the bulge. Women have bulges and that’s okay.’
The video angered fellow transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner, who said, “Let’s not normalize anything this person is doing. This is absurdity!’