" I make indisputable to strand myself in a really strong sense of self so that nothing can didder it , specially not some average * * * * * dude on the internet . "
In 2021,Drew Afualo ’s video about men ’s red-faced flags went viral on TikTok , and the rest period is account . A womanhood ’s rights pleader and intersectional women’s rightist , she ’s beloved online for roasting misogynist and bigot while intoxicate women and marginalise communities — all with her key signature sense of humor .
In addition to her piece of work as a capacity Almighty , the 29 - year - old hostsThe Comment Sectionpodcast and co - hosts theTwo Idiot Girlspodcast with her sister , Deison . you may often find Drew make celebrities express joy as a red carpet correspondent at effect like the Oscars and the Grammys . She ’s also the first Samoan cleaning lady to make the New York Times Best Seller inclination ! Her book , Loud : Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve , has received convinced reviews from 1000 of reader .
“I make sure to ground myself in a really strong sense of self so that nothing can shake it, especially not some mediocre ***** dude on the internet."
For BuzzFeed’sVoices of the Pacificseries , I sat down with Drew to chitchat about her vocation , Pacific Islander theatrical performance , and more .
BuzzFeed: You’ve taken down hundreds of misogynistic men on TikTok, all with your signature laugh that we know and love. In your book, you said your mom named you Drew, a gender-neutral name, so you couldn’t be discriminated against during job applications — it almost feels like you were born to defy the patriarchy! What brings you the most joy when you stand up to those men?
Drew Afualo : What brings me the most joy would decidedly be how my reaction affects the masses who jazz my content . It ’s really significant for them to see someone like myself , not just experience hatred like that , which is obviously not exclusive to me ; there are many marginalized people who survive on the internet , who are plague and berated for no reason , or for ground that are purely bigoted in nature . But it ’s important for them to see how I react to it and how , more importantly , I do n’t internalize any of it . I verify to ground myself in a really potent sentiency of self so that nothing can shake off it , especially not some second-rate bitch dude on the internet . He ’s not gon na shake my trust because I restrain no value of what he opine , right ?
What brings me the most pleasure is multitude see how I react to hate like that , and then start to embed or practice the same kind of mentality when they ’re distribute with hatred or dealing with bigotry or dealing with misogyny in any way . Examples are important in a lot of ways . And me learning to express joy at it has give other people the office to express joy at it , which is a beautiful thing .
If you could pick one thing for people to take away from your videos, what would it be?
I would hope that they give themselves the permission to hump themselves unabashedly outside the confines of a man . If I could give you anything , if I could give every undivided person who watch me and love me anything at all , it would be that , because it is a giving in and of itself . It ’s a talent that keeps on giving .
Have you ever faced challenges in your career as a Pacific Islander? If so, how did you overcome them?
The event I ’ve run into have been lack of representation , peculiarly during thing like AAPI calendar month . I ’m not the only one , believe it or not . I am not the only Samoan soul to survive ever online ! I am one of the few that have been capable to cross over into mainstream . I ’m not the first — if I have anything to do with it , by all odds not the last .
I would say being a token is a big one , where they ’re like , " Okay , if there ’s 10 Asian Americans , one PI . What ’s that daughter ’s name from TikTok ? Yeah , get her . " That ’s been an issue . How I ’ve addressed that has been anytime I ’m invite into conversations surrounding anything representative of my acculturation or Pacific Islanders as a whole — because to say that I represent Pacific Islanders as a whole would be insane . There are so many of us , and we are not one monolith . So , anytime I ’m invited into the conversation to talk about that , I always verify to emphasize that I should not be the only PI in that way . I should not be the only PI who looks like me either ; not every Pacific Islander looks the same by any stretchiness . I sense like that ’s another aspect that I always advocate for .
Also , just citizenry have no vulnerability at all to Pacific Islander people . They kind of just assume I ’m another ethnicity , which I think is a trouble in and of itself . It ’s mostly just representation . And I think how you treat that is confronting them about it and saying , " I should not be the only one . you may find more , work a small bit harder , it ’ll be fine , " which I have articulate many prison term . Sometimes they ’re receptive ; sometimes they ’re not .
On your podcast,The Comment Section, you’ve had so many incredible guests, fromAuli’i Cravalhoto Karamo Brown toChappell Roan. Have you remained friends with any of your guests?
Oh , yeah , totally . Thankfully , I ’ve persist booster with , I would say almost all of them . It ’s laughable , because I feel like a flock of people do n’t know this , but I would say , with the exclusion of maybe two or three episodes , I get together my guests the day we film . Before the camera turn on and I do the introduction , I just meet them 5 or 10 minutes prior to that , and I kind of kiki with them a short act before we go correctly into the episode . The I you listed , Auli’i , Chappell , Karamo , that was the first time I ever take on them , and the first time I ever talked to them in person . And Karamo , we did n’t even confab via DM . We ’re just counterpart . That ’s my sis . I have it off Karamo , but Chappell , we connected online and clobber before . Same with Auli’i .
I find like I ’m really good at pass water friends , and I ’d like to say that my guests concord with me . Thankfully , they all still desire to be my protagonist after we polish off film , and they still enjoy my fellowship , and similarly . All of them are my champion , honestly , which is insane to intend about , but it ’s an honour . And this is not a trait that ’s undivided to me . I feel like a lot of Samoans , if not all of them , are like this , where they ’re just really easy to get along with , they ’re just really well-disposed , and want to make friends . And I am no exclusion . I fuck to make acquaintance .
If you could work with any Pacific Islander, who would it be and why?
I would be intimate to work out with Parris Goebel . I just imagine she is a genius . I know latterly she choreographedLady Gaga’s[“Abracadabra " ] music video . I would love to operate with her in any content . Do n’t wish what it is . I ca n’t dance like her — I can dance but not like that . But if she wants to issue forth kiki with me , have me know , female child , my electric chair is open .
Your book has helped thousands of readers to realize their self-worth and find their confidence. How does it feel to be the first Samoan woman to make the New York Times Best Seller list?
Oh , man ! That makes me excited . It feels astonishing , and it feels surreal in a mountain of ways . I ’m just honored . Everything I do , I do in accolade of my people and my ancestors specifically . It truly just feels like the most humbling affair in the world . I would n’t have been able to do any of that without my ancestors , so I feel very thankful . And I feel just proud , proud to be Samoan , proud to be PI . Hell yeah !
BuzzFeed : I ’m also a Samoan womanhood writing a Good Book , and so when I saw that , for me and for a lot of other Islander author , it felt like it ’s potential ! Because you ’ve done it , and so now other people can do it . Truly , a breaking of barriers and an brainchild .
That means a lot to me . I will not cry ! Do n’t even think about it ! Thank you so much for divvy up that with me . I finger like delegacy is so important in so many ways . And us being represent in the writing blank is so rarified , so being one of the first is just fucking incredible , to be quite honest with you , and that really touches me . Thank you so much , and I ’m sending you so many good vibes for your playscript . I ca n’t waitress .
There was so much I loved about your book, but one part that really struck me, as a fellow childfree woman, was your journey to realizing you don’t want kids. Samoan culture places so much significance on family, and while that’s beautiful and keeps us a close-knit community, it can make it difficult for Islander women to come to terms with their decision to not have children. What would you say to any women struggling with this?
First off , that chapter was one of the hardest to publish because it ’s obviously a very personal and intimate conclusion . But at the same time , with that experience in particular , it was really crucial to incorporate it into my Holy Writ . I did struggle a little morsel with being that vulnerable . gratefully , I was gently encourage by my team to include it because it is so important to see theatrical in many different ways , including women who endure lives alfresco of what is expected . Patriarchal expectation put on us through cultural expectation is also passing puzzling and can be very suffocating in a lot of ways .
My advice to anyone who can have tike and is on the fence about it is the mind that if it ’s not a yes , it ’s a no , and that ’s okay . Will your answer modification ? It ’s really specific to the individual , but in my experience , I be intimate what I desire and what I do n’t . I do n’t know if that ’s shocking to hear from me [ laughter ] . I ’m very confident in my conclusion - making . Any sort of hesitation that I had , I realized after the fact , was strictly patriarchal enforcement . It was not because that ’s what I wanted ; it was because I felt up like that was expected of me as someone with a womb . But also , Samoan culture , it ’s very phratry - oriented . Kids are a huge part of animation . So , I really had to come to term with that .
I extremely encourage anyone who can have minor and is sputter with that determination to really take out it privately , to sit with it and come to terms with it , and empathize that bringing life into the world is not the only fashion to obtain happiness . It ’s not the only means to find fulfillment , and it ’s not the itinerary for everyone , and that ’s hunky-dory . There ’s absolutely nothing untimely with that . And I really do feel like that was the last piece of my internalized misogyny that I had to rip out of myself , because even hold it out loud , I still felt a lot of disgrace , which I should n’t . pity for what ? For whom ? There ’s no ignominy to be had ; that is strictly just misogynistic pressing being put on my shoulder as someone with a womb , which is brainsick to think about .
For Pacific Islanders, there are so many aspects of our cultures that we hold close to our hearts, from our foods to our dances to our tattoos. What’s your favorite part of your culture?
It ’s ironic , coming after the last question , but family is my favorite part . family unit and humor are essential , integral parts to Samoan culture . I ’m constantly say mass about Samoan citizenry because there ’s so little exposure , especially in the entertainment reality . Samoan culture is a culture rooted in service to your syndicate , to your acculturation , to the lord , to your senior , to anyone , really . It ’s inherently altruistic — selfless to a fault in a flock of way . But we love to give with no expectation of anything in return .
That ’s the screw thread line you could see in so many dissimilar aspects of our culture , whether it ’s solid food , in the manner we serve , the way we eat together , the way that we drop all of our waking moments together . There has never been a moment in my life story where I was not fence by syndicate in some mental ability ; everything is rooted with kin and dear , and the same thing with humor . I see how to be funny with my family . I learned how to take a joke with my folk . I learned how to roast with my phratry . My favorite parts of Samoan culture are definitely crime syndicate and humor because every Samoan I ’ve ever met is the funniest motherfucker I ’ve ever met my life . I ’ve never met a funnier somebody in my life than Samoan mass , so I have to attribute all of my humour and jokes to them . They ’ve made me funny .
Do you have a favorite Samoan food?
Fa’i [ green bananas ] . I would say I ’m a fa’i lover . Now , do I call for all of the fixings with it ? No , I like my fa’i plain , and I hump that ’s so controversial ; I do n’t deal . Also palusami [ coconut palm pick wrapped in taro plant leaves ] . My two faves .
I’ll never forget thegorgeous tapa dress lookfrom theBlack Adampremiere, complete with glam from Samoan makeup artist Adam Simmons. Why was it so important to rep your culture on the red carpet that day?
What ’s rummy about that is I experience like I so severely certify that . I did that in October 2022 . In January / February [ of that year ] , I was enjoin Adam , " Hey , I know The Rock has a movie amount out after this year . My goal is to go to the premiere hopefully . But if I do , I require to wear something ethnic , and I want to walk with my human , who ’s also Samoan , and then have him fall apart something cultural , too . " And he was like , " Oh , did you get call for to something ? " And I was like , " No , I ’m just severalize you I hope that happens . " [ Laughs ] But then I ended up being the legion for it , along with my friend , Chris Olsen , which was crazy .
The reason why it was so important to me is because The Rock is a Samoan humankind . Obviously , he ’s calamitous and he ’s Samoan , but he has been the center point , the commencement and lay off power point really , for most people ’s agreement of Samoan people . They ’re like , " Well , The Rock , that ’s it ! " He ’s been such a polar person for us in the world of amusement . But there ’s also so much more than just him , right ? I felt like him being a Samoan superhero , that was such a huge ethnic second for media .
If I was ever going to do it , that was the moment . Thankfully , I found my seamstress , Nancy , through my cousin Josh and his married man , which was wonderful . She ’s Samoan and Tongan , and so she and Adam actually crop together to make the dress and the intention . She also made my fiancé ’s feel as well , and he had the ie faitaga and the ula fala .
It was significant to me because seeing the first Samoan superhero or antihero on the prominent CRT screen , it was a chance for us to really be like , " We ’re here , and we ’re funny , and we ’re chic , and we ’re talented , and we ’re open of so many more things than just being big and hard . " Which are cracking too , but that ’s all people really know about us , good ? And I want them to see other parts of us . gratefully , it came out beautiful , and it was such a moment . We still spill the beans about it to this Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . I was like , period , clearly , I made an impact .
What advice do you have for young Pacific Islander creatives?
My PIs , you could be anything you want to be in the world of entertainment . You do not have to be a token . You do not have to be a torso . You do n’t have to be big and inviolable . you may be anything you want . And it is so possible for anyone to do what I did , to do what The Rock did , to do what Auliʻi is doing , to do what Jason Momoa did , like Parris Goebel . They ’re all shining examples of : we are more than equal to of break off into an diligence that has so long ignored us and not view us for who we really are . And we do n’t have to only be typecast into prejudiced persona . you’re able to do exactly what white people do . It is so possible .
I ’ve always believed it , but now walking in it and actually doing it is making me be like , " I knew it , I jazz it , I knew I could do it . " But it ’s one thing to believe it , it ’s another affair to see it . And so , seeing me do this now should really separate you that it is potential , and we are more than capable of achieving all of the things that everybody else does and everybody else is recognized for . We do n’t have to tip into stereotype in ordination to get there . We can get there strictly ground off being odd , being saucy , being a talented vocalizer , a gifted pianissimo actor , a writer , whatever it is you want to be . We are more than capable of doing it , and we can do it just as well , and be just successful , and find an interview that loves us for who we are . And then , we have the luck to amplify our cultivation and talk about who we are and never draw a blank it . So , I ’ll never grow tired of talking about being Samoan ever .
What do you want your legacy to be, and how do you hope future generations will remember your contributions to Pacific Islander history?
I hope my legacy is that I ’m not the last . I go for I ’m one of many Samoan women or Samoan hoi polloi in cosmopolitan that want to get into amusement or get into media . I hope my bequest is that disregardless of where I go or transcend , my civilisation was always at the forefront of everything that I tried to expand and tried to make have it off in the universe .
The first Samoan fair sex to make the New York Times Best Seller inclination . Yeah , call back me like that . That ’s perfect . [ Laughs ] The sky is unfeignedly the limit for us . I consider we are some of the most talented hoi polloi in the human race , and you could say I ’m one-sided , sure , why not ? But I hope that people just remember me as , definitely not the only , but one of the first , period . I ’m unrestrained . I ’m majestic of that . I ’m stand up there with the greats like Parris Goebel , we ’re all fend side by side , I hope that ’s how I ’m remembered .
You took a break from TikTok for a little while and posted a really emotional video to announce it. How are you feeling now? I know professionally, you’re absolutely killing it, but I mean emotionally.
I ’m doing much , much good . gratefully , my break from TikTok was about six and a one-half , seven week , which was the perfect amount of detox clip for me , especially around the holidays , too . My category and I have a go at it the holiday . That was the best time for me to take a interruption , really , because it pay back me offline and off my phone and really help me feel a lot more present .
But as of right now , I palpate genuinely refreshed , and I sense like myself again . I feel a lot more connected to myself and a lot less connected to the internet . That was a vast cause why I withdraw the break in the first office . I felt like the paradigm was pitch negatively , and so I need to make certain I keep a finger’s breadth on the heart rate and verify I take care of myself and my mental wellness . I ’m feeling a destiny better , feeling ready and raring to go . My 2025 so far has been , nutty . So , I ’m right back to work , right back to being crack , passing busy . I ’m a Virgo . I jazz being engaged . But thankfully , now that I ’ve take my break , I am very much so worked up every time I have to work and material , which is always , but no burnouts . That ’s what I ’m seek to avoid . But give thanks you so much for demand . I appreciate it .
You also host theTwo Idiot Girlspodcast with your sister, Deison. You toured across the country together to over 20 cities. What’s next for you? What’s the dream?
Next for me andTwo Idiot Girlsand my sister , Deison , we ’re proceed to do at JFL , Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Vancouver , which is super exciting . We ’re exit up to Canada to get some giggle and some gag . That will be really fun .
As for me , I have so many irons and so many fervidness . I ’m focusing on television receiver and shoot a fortune in 2025 , which is very exciting , too . Doing more acting , which I ’m flighty about but excited . And continuing to put my people on , that ’s always on the agenda every year . raft of huge things . My dream at long last would be to just continue to spread out into all traditional forms of medium and really solidify myself as a person in amusement . That would be my ultimate dreaming , really , and to just continue doing what I sleep with , which is being wacky for a living . I roll in the hay it ! [ Laughs ]
Finally, what does being Pacific Islander mean to you?
It really does intend love to me . Pacific Islanders are so full of love and warmth and just an Department of Energy that ’s charismatic . It disembowel everybody in . And that ’s not me gassing myself . I ’m talking about any Pacific Islander I ’ve ever converge . They have never struggled for friends , and they ’ve never struggle for comradery , community , proper ? I feel like it means commit our acculturation out in the creation , mean putting love in the world . I love it ! Being Samoan specifically , yeah !
Thank you for chatting with us, Drew! Be sure to keep up with Drew onInstagramandTikTok.
you could interpret moreVoices of the Pacificinterviewshere .
