- 26-year-old internet personality Mat George died in a hit-and-run in Los Angeles on Saturday.
- George's "She Rates Dogs" podcast co-host Michaela Okland confirmed his death on
Twitter . - The LAPD said it was investigating the West Hollywood hit-and-run.
The online comedy community is reeling from the hit-and-run killing of beloved internet personality and podcast host Mat George.
26-year-old George hosted the dating and pop
"I would rather you guys here [sic] this from me than a news article," Okland wrote, later adding, "I know he's laughing at me for having such a stupid typo in the first sentence of this."
The tweet continued, "I don't really have any other words right now. I wish I could contact everybody who knows him personally but the news is already out and I just can't do it right now."
-michaela okland (@MichaelaOkla) July 17, 2021
The Los Angeles Police Department's West Traffic Division confirmed to Insider that the hit-and-run took place at around 2:20 AM on Saturday in West Hollywood. George was struck crossing the street by a driver of a white BMW who has yet to be identified, police said. He died at the scene. Los Angeles police are investigating the incident, a representative told Insider.
"Mat was such a beacon of light for so many people," George's former roommate and friend Daniel Spalinger told Insider. "He was loving, funny, and so positive about everything."
George, who was openly gay, was known for viral internet moments like measuring a microwave with vodka bottles, which got written up by BuzzFeed in 2017. He authored numerous viral tweets and ran a parody Twitter account where he pretended to be straight in an attempt to get cast on reality dating TV shows.
The podcast host moved to LA last year to pursue a career in entertainment after he graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in biology in 2017. On Saturday, his name trended on Twitter, as prominent internet personalities paid tribute to him, including comedy writer Abby Govindan, who said that he maintained "hundreds" of friendships.
Govindan said that though George faced harassment on Twitter, he "had an impeccable talent for taking it in stride and turning it into a joke for his followers to laugh at."
-abby govindan (@abbygov) July 17, 2021
Ellie Schnitt, a Twitter personality with more than 550,000 followers, said that George was "incomparably funny, incomparably kind, and one of the best people I've known."
Days before his death, George was trending on Twitter after posting a picture purporting to show his mother with Snoop Dogg, but it was actually an impersonator. The rapper himself quote-tweeted George and wrote, "Which Dogg?"
Twitter personality Diane Alston told Insider that George would be remembered "for not just his humor and how infectious his own happiness was, but for how welcoming he was."
Alston continued: "He had a way of making people who barely knew him feel included."
Spalinger, George's friend, highlighted his lasting impact on internet culture.
"He would cheer anyone up with his witty jokes and charismatic personality," Spalinger said. "His impact has spread throughout social media and so many are affected by it."
Spalinger continued: "It was impossible to be anything but happy when Mat was around."