Drew Afualo is She is never at a loss for words. On the subject of idiotic men who get angry about shaming women on the Internet, criticizing them for their weight, their clothing, or their body count (when it comes to sexual partners), she, in fact, I will not be silent.
That’s why her followers and detractors keep coming back. In the years since Afualo began calling out men for their shitty, anti-feminist behavior on TikTok in 2020, she’s become a household name among Gen Z thanks to her high-caliber, razor-sharp, almost Shakespearean sermons.
As host of The comments section In her new manifesto-memoir, Afualo is firm in her stance on where and with whom she stands. Her platform, she says, is one in which men have no place. “As someone who makes a living by spraying the Internet of these human cockroaches, I always say that I have the most aggressive form of job security there is,” she writes in her new manifesto-memoir. Out loud: Don’t accept anything less than the life you deservewhich will be published on July 30, “because men will never stop being terrible and I will never stop calling them out for it. I sleep soundly at night on a mattress those bitches paid for.”
The formula is working. Afualo is everywhere now (8 million followers on TikTok, 1 million on Instagram) and, perhaps most proud of all, she lives rent-free in the minds of Logan Paul-loving podcast bros who feel threatened by female empowerment. Over the phone from Los Angeles, we talked about the influence of family, how humor works, and why she’s not too worried about TikTok getting banned.
JASON PARHAM: If it’s okay with you, let’s start with the biggest story of the week. Vice President Kamala Harris has announced her presidential bid and will likely be the Democratic nominee. What do you think about that?
AFUALO DRAWED: I’m hopeful. I feel like any woman in a position of power is a victory for women everywhere. It’s very exciting.
I’ve heard a lot about Kamala can’t do it. She’s not ready. Why do you think it is so difficult for some people to believe that a woman can be president?
Probably for the same reason that, you know, patriarchy has convinced most people that women can’t do anything without the help of a man. But if we were to trace all the world’s problems back to one source, they would always come from a man. I don’t know, tell me, why do people think that women are incapable when men have created all the world’s problems?
You deal with similar topics in HighIn one chapter, titled “It’s Okay to Be Bad,” you write: “Since the advent of social media, the internet has been a minefield for anyone who isn’t a cisgender, heterosexual white man.” I recently joked with a friend about how I sometimes wonder if social media’s first lie was that everyone deserves a voice online. Many platforms have become a breeding ground for hate.
The people I draw pictures of (on TikTok) are a clear example of “well, maybe not.” For me, the internet has its beauty and its curse. It’s wonderful that so many people have found community and connections through the internet and have been able to reach so many people, myself included.