There Are No Girls on the Internet as a production of I Heart Radio and Unbust 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 Juliana 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 strapping 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 congress person, a huge Trump ally, our 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 Q and On 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 one 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 five to fifty pounds, and they're like, give me my abortions or all get up in march and protests. And I'm thinking, March, do look like you got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind rowe versus way 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. Nineteen year old Olivia took to Twitter to respond, saying, it's come to my attention that Matt gets a legend. Pedophile has said that it's always the quote odious five ft to three fifty pound women, that quote nobody wants to impregnate? Who rallied for abortion. I'm actually five eleven six four in heels. I wear them so the small men like you are reminded of your place and shout out to all the all girls. I'm fave eleven. 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 nineteen year old from a sitting congress person. 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 Gets 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 no no. You see, Olivia grew up watching professional wrestling, and she says that watching w w E taught her about the power of quick wit and the 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 His ugly comments to start a campaign to fundraise for abortion rights. She raised fifty dollars in less than twenty four hours, and as of today, she's raised a whopping two million dollars, more than she
says the organization has ever taken in. According to The Washington Post, the funds will be split between fifty 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 owners across the country. We're working alongside Democratic candidates from across the country, and so by underestimating me and thinking that I won't be able to fire back as hard as I proved 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 picked the wrong team 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 and the stigation. 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 Deets 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's office would try to keep the word teenager out of the headline. I'm Matt Gates and teenager trended together, it didn't end so well for him, So a live via 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 to spare in these dark times, and listener, Valerie Maids in and 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 bands discrimination on the basis of sex, that that now also includes protections for the LGBTQ 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. If you're looking for ways to support the show, check out our mark store at tangodi dot com. Flash Store.
Got a story about an interesting thing in tech, or just want to say hi, You can reach us at Hello at tangodi dot com. You can also find transcripts for today's episode at tangdi dot com. There Are No Girls on the Internet was created by me Bridget Tod. It's a production of iHeart Radio and Unboss Creative, edited by Joey pat Jonathan Strickland as our executive producer. Terry Harrison is our producer, and sound engineer. Michael Amatta was
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 I heeart Radio, check out the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.