With over 8 million followers, L.A. content creator Drew Afualo has created a name for herself on TikTok and Instagram, where she is known for her loud cackle, big energy — and being the internet’s “Crusader for Women.”
Through her women empowerment-focused, “clapback” videos, podcast and overall brand, the 26-year-old Los Angeles resident boldly decries discrimination, racism, homophobia, fatphobia and transphobia; all while building a growing community of people who value diversity and inclusion.
But perhaps what Afualo is most known for is her blatant calling out of misogyny, challenging patriarchal ideals, and fighting “horrible men on the internet,” she says.
“Men are so delusional… male validation is worthless,” Afualo said in one viral video decrying commenters who degrade women. A sign in the back of her podcast studio reads, “Women don’t owe you (expletive).”
Aside from being a content creator and TikTok star, Afualo is now making her author debut. The title of her upcoming book is much like the cackle she is known for.
“Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve,” is a part memoir, part self-help novel, she said. Debuting July 30, Afualo’s book is published under record producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s publishing imprint AUWA Books, and is described as a “manual for fearlessly confident living.”
Afualo called the new book a piece of her “brain and heart” that fans can take home with them and hopefully, find power and confidence in themselves.
“Since building my platform, I’ve had so many people ask me ‘How do I get your confidence?’” Afualo said. “I think a major step in harnessing that kind of confidence is de-centering men entirely from every facet of your being.”
Her audience is “everyone who has ever struggled” with misogyny, any facet of bigotry, as well as those learning to love themselves “in a world that makes it nearly impossible to do so if you don’t identify as a straight man,” she said.
She sees social media as a way to raise awareness from women empowerment and race, to the intersectionality of these themes. On her podcast, “The Comment Section,” Afualo has conversations with other marginalized content creators including women, femmes, trans and nonbinary people. Online and in her episodes, she often discusses fighting internal biases inspired by patriarchal, colonial ideals on gender and sexuality.
Born and raised in a Samoan family in Santa Ana, Afualo said her culture “didn’t adhere to a gender binary” before being colonized. Research shows that numerous Indigenous cultures, including Samoans from the Polynesian islands, recognize multiple genders within their society. This belief has shaped the way Afualo, who often talks about gender and sexual identity, views herself and the world.
While in grade school, Afualo said she was one of only a few Polynesian people in the whole school — including herself and her older sister, Deison.
Advocating for Indigenous and Pacific Islander representation — especially Samoan humor — is of huge importance to the young creator, which is reflected in many of her videos.
“I think representation is so important for many reasons, especially in entertainment,” Afualo said. “People’s understanding of Polynesian people starts and stops at ‘The Rock’ (Dwayne Johnson).”
On her Spotify-exclusive podcast, she said that Polynesians are often overrepresented in sports — such as American football — because of their build and strength, but “Samoan people are so much more than their bodies and what they can contribute to sports conglomerates.”
“Samoan people are funny, creative, talented, musical and so much more than just athletic,” she said. Her father Tait and other men in her family have all played professional football, and Afualo briefly worked in communications for the NFL before being let go in 2020. Since then, she has shared publicly about her rise to social media fame while “handling the haters” and confronting bigots. She was named one of Time Magazine’s “Next Generation Leaders” and one of Forbes’ Top Creators of 2023.
She said she has often heard people say her videos are, for some, their “first exposure” to Samoan culture. She finds this “mind-blowing,” inspiring her to keep creating entertaining and informative content with her signature humor.
“I feel like that’s why representation is super important to me — because I never saw anyone who looked like me, I never saw anyone who was built like me, and I never saw anyone who laughed like me in the media, growing up,” she said. “My laugh is such a signifier and lots of people love my laugh, but every Samoan person laughs like I do. So that’s cultural in many ways.”
Much of Afualo’s passion for calling out biases and empowering others — especially women of color — comes from learning about feminism, personal experiences of racism and “being othered.”
In her new book, she shared a story of a “poor reaction” she had when her older sister Deison came out to her years ago. It became more about herself than being accepting, and she attributes the experience to having unknown internalized biases while worrying for her sister as an out queer person.
“That moment of hesitation when Deison came out to me is why I will be loud-mouthed and opinionated until the day I die, and why I will always call out misogynistic, homophobic, or any other bigoted bull— whenever I see it,” she wrote.
Afualo said she became more educated in queer theory, gender and sexuality roles and stereotypes, worked hard to examine her internal biases. Now as adults, she and Deison have a podcast together and have attended Pride events together.
Across her social media platforms, many viewers of Afualo have said that her videos helped them stand up for themselves and others. Some shared in comments that her content has helped them escape abusive situations.
One fan on Instagram, who goes by Laur Elizabeth, said “Whenever I’m being treated poorly, I ask myself ‘What would Drew do?’”
On one TikTok celebrating women standing up to men, user Sarah Harmon commented: “As an elder Millennial, I have made it my mission to teach this behavior to all my younger ladies at work. I’m like a proud mama when they follow through.”
“Us Polynesians are forever proud of you,” another user posted.
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As her content creator — and now author — career continues to grow, Afualo hopes to become more involved in the entertainment world, auditioning for a few acting roles. Her upcoming “Loud” book tour will also feature a live, unfiltered comedy show with her sister, including a sold-out date on August 24 at The Regent Theater in Los Angeles.
Afualo will also appear at a book launch event on Friday, July 26 at Barnes and Noble bookstore at The Grove. Tickets for the signing and photo opportunity are available on Eventbrite. Pre-orders for “Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve” are at drew-afualo.com.
Staff writer Allyson Vergara contributed to this report.
