Penn State’s Student Programming Association (SPA) and Relationship Violence Outreach, Intervention, and Community Education (R-VOICE) Center brought Samoan American influencer, podcaster, and author Drew Afualo to campus Thursday night for Women’s History Month. The lecture, which was free for students, took place in the HUB’s Alumni Hall. 

Afualo is known for her presence on TikTok, where she has amassed over 8.2 million followers and makes entertaining videos criticizing misogynistic and fatphobic viewpoints. She hosts the “Comment Section” podcast and released her first book, “Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve,” in 2024.

Her sharp wit and unapologetic humor have gained recognition, leading to her being named a Next Generation Leader by TIME Magazine, a Forbes Top Creator of 2023, and Adweek’s Digital & Tech Creator of the Year. 

Alumni Hall filled with applause as Afualo took the stage. She spoke about the changes in her career, from creating her original platform on TikTok to starting her podcast, and attributed the majority of her success to the skills she learned in college.

Afualo majored in journalism and communications at Hawaii. She emphasized that learning skills such as filming, speaking in front of a camera, and editing have helped her in her journey as an influencer. During her time in college, she found an interest in sports journalism.

“I emphasized sports because I wanted to be one of the few women to go into sports journalism. Specifically, I was trying to re-gentrify the space,” Afualo said.

This decision and passion led to her job with the NFL, where she was responsible for creating social media content that appealed to a female demographic. The NFL ended up firing Afualo on the claim that she couldn’t build a following. Fortunately for Afualo, the NFL was wrong.

“Man, I love being right, but even in that specific instance, it was ironic because I really was meant to target women, and I clearly know how to target women,” she said.

When asked how her culture influenced her success, Afualo expressed that being the only Samoan woman in influencer spaces made it harder to get signed. She was gaining hundreds of followers a day yet had not been reached out to by brands or managers. Ultimately, her success was too notable to ignore.

“I got to a point where I just became too big to ignore. So then, they had no choice but to do something, and once they did, they were like, ‘Oh wait, there’s actually maybe something here.'”

Being able to serve as a role model for other Polynesian women following a similar career path is what makes the job most rewarding for her.

“It’s been wonderful and amazing, and hopefully, there will be more behind me, many, many more Polynesian women,” Afualo said.

Afualo spoke about how isolating the media industry can be and how important it is to remain grounded. She talked about receiving hate from men in her comments and emphasized that knowing her content has helped others allowed her to stay centered. Doing things that give her a sense of normalcy, like driving her car, also keeps her balanced.

“Kind of doing things that remind me of who I was before I started doing this, that always helps ground me, and then also remembering why I started in the first place, remembering who I started it for and why I started making videos,” Afualo said.

Afualo advised the audience to decenter men’s impact on women’s lives by staying confident and finding conviction in who they are. She stressed the importance of self-love and prioritizing self-worth. Even though Afualo has a platform and uses her voice to challenge misogyny, she notes that all women can build confidence.

“I don’t have any sort of superpower that makes me impenetrable. What I have is follow through,” Afualo said.

Talking about her childhood, Afualo mentioned her family dynamic made her who she is today. Her mom was the breadwinner, and her dad stayed home. She mentioned her college friend group and how life experience can allow others to break down their prejudices and internalized phobias.

Afualo takes pride in being the first Samoan woman to make the New York Times bestseller list. Being able to impact women worldwide has inspired her to continue creating content and being unapologetically herself.

“I want you to believe that you deserve better, you deserve the best, and you can have it on top of that,” Afualo said.

For the future of her career, Afualo hopes to pursue acting and teased a new book in a romantic fiction style. She also hopes to continue doing lectures worldwide and advocating for her beliefs while continuing to make fun of men.

Whether it was discussing how she uses her platform to combat misogyny or Timothee Chalamet’s height, Afualo continued to keep the crowd engaged and immersed in a sea of contagious laughter. Afualo’s confidence and lighthearted humor lit up Alumni Hall.