Rikkie Valerie Kollé, the transgender winner of Miss Universe Netherlands, has come to the defense of fellow transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Regarding the big Miss Netherlands win, Kollé told Newsweek that “haters” have given him a “bigger platform.”
“It was a spectacular moment for me, I was in full disbelief when I was crowned Miss Universe Netherlands as the first transgender woman, ever,” Kollé said. “I’m proud of that and the night was amazing.”
Kollé decided to join the pageant because it “gives you an opportunity to speak and use your voice.”
“You can talk about what you want to change in society or what you think you can offer,” Kollé said.
“Let’s make my Queer community proud by doing this,” the model added.
On the Dylan Mulvaney controversy, Kollé called the backlash “horrible.”
“I think it’s really to make the girl that low in confidence… and judging her for being herself,” Kollé said. “I think it’s horrible.”
Kollé talked about getting death threats online.
“They see us as monsters, and my daily DMs are full of people wishing me dead,” said Kollé. “Wishing me dead and telling me to suicide, those things are terrible to write, but at the same [time], it’s only lifting me up because I get a bigger platform than I could ever dream of.”
“The only thing I want to say to the haters is ‘thank you,’ because you’re giving me a bigger platform than I can ever imagine,” Kollé added.
Mulvaney has publicly Bud Light of enabling “transphobia” by not supporting him enough.
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all, because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” Mulvaney said, adding that it will have “serious and grave consequences” for the LGBTQ community.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.