Calvin Klein ad with trans man wearing bra sparks comparisons to Bud Light

A Calvin Klein ad from 2022 featuring a bearded transgender man in a sports bra before top surgery has gone viral — after Bud Light’s promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked a firestorm.

Bappie Kortram, a tattooed trans influencer from the Netherlands, wore a bra that read “This is love” along with exposed underwear in the Calvin Klein Pride 2022 Campaign.

“Calvin Klein wants to go broke,” Danish physician Anastasia Maria Loupis said in a tweet on Tuesday alongside the image, which quickly generated a backlash against the fashion brand.

“What a great way to ‘Bud Light’ themselves,” one critic responded.

“Looks like a Bud-Lite moment,” another echoed.

Many social media users also vowed to boycott the brand.

“Another company to add to the Don’t Buy List,” declared one naysayer.

“Not sure why they need to go this far just to force an ideology that most don’t even want,” noted another.

Loupis’ tweet has been viewed more than 6 million times and liked more than 38,000 times.

Calvin Klein wants to go broke. pic.twitter.com/6pOBKKNMx3

— Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis (@DrLoupis) May 23, 2023

British Zebedee Talent, which represents Bappie, describes the influencer as “a trans man who has not had top surgery yet,” according to the Daily Mail.

Bappie stood beside a plus-size model named Jamilla for the shoot.

“There aren’t enough words in any language to describe how much I love Jamilla ( @jiggly.cake ) and how much this shoot means for us both,” Bappie wrote on Instagram about the experience.

“The fact that we were selected for the pride collection of Calvin Klein makes us proud on many intersecting levels,” he continued.

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Bappie gushed about Calvin Klein for allowing them “to showcase unapologetic fat love, fat pride, fat cis bodies, fat trans bodies, fat joy … that all trans bodies are good bodies. The team at CK was so kind to let me wear bralettes and a body suit.

“I think that it is important to show that trans masc bodies with breasts should be celebrated and that masculinity doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy feminine items,” he added.

The image has gone viral amid the enduring controversy of Dylan Mulvaney, 26, another trans influencer who sparked outrage in April by partnering with Bud Light after documenting her transition from male to female on TikTok.

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The beer maker incurred widespread condemnation for the campaign, with many celebrities taking to social media to share their opinions and some calling for a boycott of all Anheuser-Busch drinks.

Meanwhile, in May 2022, Calvin Klein ran a Mother’s Day campaign showing a pregnant woman who claimed she was a man.  

“Today, in support of women and mothers all over the world, we’re spotlighting the realities of new families,” the company wrote in the spot.

Following some backlash, the company responded: “We embrace this platform as an inclusive and respectful environment for individualism and self-expression. At Calvin Klein, we tolerate everything except intolerance — any intolerant commentary will be removed, and any accounts issuing hateful statements may be blocked.”

The Post has reached out to Calvin Klein for comment.