There Are No Girls on the Internet - A 19 year old activist just embarrassed Matt Gaetz while raising millions for abortion rights!

Episode Date: August 12, 2022

Looking for a little good news? After GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz body shamed 19 year old Olivia Julianna, she took a page from the professional wrestling playbook and fought back!  Help Olivia raise money for abortion care: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/genzforchoice Follow Olivia: https://twitter.com/0liviajuliannaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What would you eat if you had to start over? Real simple, poor man's, poor woman's food. Black beans, chicken. Rice, plantains. On the podcast Eating While Broke, I sit down with celebrities, entrepreneurs, and creators as they revisit the meals they once relied on and the moments that shaped their journey.

Named Best Food Podcasts at the 2006 IHeart Podcast Awards, the full season is available to binge. Right now, listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. There are no girls on the internet as a particular. of IHeart Radio and UnBossed Creative. I'm Bridget Todd, and this is There Are No Girls on the Internet. Today we have another edition of Things on the Internet that Don't Suck.

And today, that thing is Olivia Giuliana. Olivia is an abortion advocate and political strategist for the organization Gen Z for Change. A youth-led nonprofit working to educate and make tangible change on issues that disproportionately affect young people. So strap in because Olivia is about to become your new, favorite person on the internet. So you've probably heard the name Matt Gets. He's a Florida Republican congressperson, a huge Trump ally, a right-wing extremist and disinformer who says that he's, quote, proud to be in the corner of folks like Marjorie Taylor Green, who we know is a very

vocal QAnon supporter, which is really something when you consider that Gets himself is currently under investigation for sex trafficking a minor. So you might think that someone facing allegations of pretty serious sex crimes against a minor would just kind of lay low and not attract too much attention to himself, especially not attention involving young women. But you would be wrong. At a rally in Tampa, gets went out of his way to make fun of abortion rights activists. Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions?

Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb. These people are odious on the inside and out. They're like 5'2, 350 pounds, and they're like, give me my abortions or I'll get up in March and protest. And I'm thinking, March, you look like you got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind Roe versus Wade. Boo, we hate it, we hate it, we hate it. And honestly, this is just such a tired joke.

And it's also a rip off of an old George Carlin stand-up routine, which was actually originally making fun of anti-abortion advocates. So, yeah, he wasn't even being original on top of not even being funny. And I also love how he clearly kind of pauses for like a big laugh or a big round of applause that kind of really doesn't come because it wasn't very funny. And you know who else didn't find it funny? Olivia. 19-year-old Olivia took to Twitter to respond, saying,

it's come to my attention that Matt gets, alleged pedophile, has said that it's always the, quote, odious five foot two, 350-pound women that, quote, nobody wants to impregnate who rally for abortion. I'm actually 5-11, 6-4 in heels. I wear them so the small men like you

are reminded of your place. And shout out to all the tall girls. I'm 5-11, so you know I loved that. So as my mom likes to say, a hit dog will holler. So, of course, Matt had to have something the same. He retorted by tweeting an image of Olivia alongside an article about his comments,

about abortion advocates being gross-looking. Yeah, that's right. That jokes. About a 19-year-old from a sitting congressperson. So this naturally and unfortunately led to Olivia getting all kinds of really nasty messages from his supporters. She tweeted, this is what happens when a sitting Republican congressman

body shames and blast you on social media, Matt Gatz intentionally directed his followers to harass a young person. This is the Republican Party. These are their leaders. But Olivia didn't stop there. Oh, no, no, no, no. You see, Olivia grew up watching professional wrestling,

and she says that watching WWE taught her about the power of quick wit and a devastating comeback to really put somebody in their place. So that's exactly what she did. On behalf of her organization, Gen Z for Change, Olivia used Gets as ugly comments to start a campaign to fundraise for abortion rights. She raised $50,000 in less than 24 hours. And as of today, she's raised a whopping $2 million more than she says the organization has ever taken in.

According to the Washington Post, the funds will be split between 50 different abortion funds with the goal of widening access to abortion services, birth control, contraceptives, and other reproductive. health services. Here's what Olivia told MSNBC. Honestly, I think my age is a gift. Because I'm so young, a lot of these politicians think that I'm young, dumb, naive, or ignorant when the reality is I am the political strategist for one of the top and largest youth-led nonprofits in the country, Gen Z for Change. We've had multiple success stories on mobilizing young voters across the country. We're working alongside Democratic candidates from across the country. And so, by By underestimating me and thinking that I won't be able to fire back as hard as I prove that I can,

they are truly gifting me a national platform on a silver platter. So honestly, I would like to thank them for consistently undermining me and undermining Gen Z, because at the end of the day, we're the ones who usually win these battles. I also really love what she had to say in Teen Vogue. Olivia told Teen Vogue that Matt really just picks the wrong teen to bully, saying, quote, Matt had put a spotlight on me. He had given me the chance to rebut publicly, and I think that what he was expecting

was for me to fall into an outrage cycle. He wanted me to be like, this is horrendous, you're evil, you should be canceled. He wants people to label him as a monster and a free speech absolutist, and I don't think he expected me to respond the way that I did to fundraise for abortions.

He also probably didn't expect me to bring up his criminal investigation. What a weirdo to talk about another teenager. And I really love this because I think that she brilliantly subverted this tired notion of a young person as this delicate scold who would just fall apart when challenged. I know that's the portrait that people like Matt Gatz and his supporters like to paint of our young people, but it is a fiction. Young people, Gen Z, they're some of the most resilient, creative, strong people I have ever met. And honestly, they inspire me to stay in this movement time and time again. And yeah, I think the bottom line is, don't mess with teens.

I can tell you this firsthand from hanging out with my teenage cousins. And if you've got any teens in your life, I know that you know what I'm talking about, because they will embarrass you. Case in point. I think it's quite telling that Gates' office would try to keep the word teenager out of the headlines. Seeing the time Matt Gates had teenager trended together, it didn't end so well for him. So Olivia, thank you for giving me. something on the internet that doesn't suck. Thank you for being a light in a world that feels like

it is full of trash and constantly on fire. And as you know, I asked you all to send along your good news, things that are making you feel something other than despair in these dark times. And listener Valerie Mates in Ann Arbor, Michigan, shared a little good news that I actually didn't even know about and wanted to share with all of you. Valerie writes, here in Michigan, LGBTQ protections were not insured by law. And yesterday, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that were the state's non-discrimination law banned discrimination on the basis of sex, that that now also includes protections for the LGBT community. I didn't even know they were considering that, and I was delighted to hear.

And Valerie, I am delighted as well. Thank you for sharing. And listeners, please continue to share with me what's bringing you joy or happiness or a little bit of light or a little bit of laugh on the internet? I don't care how petty it is. I don't care how small it is. I don't care how silly it is. I want to hear about it.

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was created by me, Bridget Todd. It's a production of IHeartRadio and unbossed creative. Edited by Joey Pat. Jonathan Strickland is our executive producer. Tari Harrison is our producer and sound engineer. Michael Amato is our contributing producer. I'm your host, Bridget Todd. If you want to help us grow,

rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, check out the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hiring. You just under.

That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What would you eat if you had to start over?

Real simple, poor man's, poor woman's food. Black beans, chicken, rice, plantains. On the podcast, eating while broke, I sit down with celebrities, entrepreneurs. and creators as they revisit the meals they once relied on and the moments that shaped their journey. Named Best Food Podcasts at the 2006 IHeart Podcast Awards, the full season is available to binge. Right now, listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Your 20s can be so exciting, but they can also be really overwhelming, confusing, and honestly just kind of lonely. May is Mental Health Awareness Month

and the psychology of your 20s is breaking down the science behind the biggest roadblocks we face. I was six years into my career, the 80-hour weeks and just the first one in, the last one out, and I ended up burning out. There was a large chunk of my 20s that I was just so wanting to be out of that phase out of my skin

and I just like really regret not living in the present more. You don't need to have everything figured out right now. You just need to understand yourself a little bit better. Listen to the psychology of your 20s on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.