Appearing on the Creators Inc. podcast, internet personality Ali Lopez spoke candidly about the nickname that launched her to viral fame, the men who approach her with hidden agendas, and the brands she believes see her as little more than a number.
Lopez first broke through after an appearance on the ‘Whatever Podcast,; where she introduced herself with a now-iconic line: “My name is Ali. I’m 23 years old and I’m a certified bad b**ch.”
The clip spread rapidly, and with it came a nickname she did not choose. Rather than ‘Gorlock,’ the label internet culture assigned her in the aftermath, Lopez made clear she has mixed feelings about it.
“I will say the name Gorlock, it doesn’t… I don’t like it, but at the same time, I’m not oblivious to the fact that that name brought me to where I am today,” she told host Andy.
The 27-year-old Arizona-based creator said that navigating fame has made genuine connection harder, particularly when it comes to the men in her orbit.
“I feel like a lot of the guys who have approached me, it’s always with a motive, and I pick that up right away,” she said. When pressed on what that motive tends to be, Lopez was direct: “Trying to gain something out of me.”
She described a pattern among online creators and male influencers who attach themselves to her hoping for introductions and visibility. “They kind of think that by attaching themselves to me, I’m going to bring them along for the ride,” she said. “It becomes noticeable right away when that’s the first thing that they jump to.”
The same transactional energy, she noted, extends to the brand world. Lopez said that in her experience, the companies that approach her are far less interested in genuine trans inclusion than they are in her reach.
“A lot of the companies that I have been approached by, they don’t care that I’m trans. That’s the last thing that they ask me. It comes down to, ‘We know you’re going to bring in numbers, so what’s up?'” she said. “I don’t feel like there’s a company out there who really gives a s**t.”
Despite the opportunism she encounters, Lopez said her mental resilience comes from navigating far harder circumstances growing up, including hiding her identity from her Catholic family before transitioning at 18 or 19.
“I went through so much with my family and my personal family life,” she said. “I feel like I got my trials then, and I don’t look at this as a trial.”
She acknowledged that leaning into internet culture, rather than resisting it, has been part of her approach.
“Sometimes my posts can be a little bit trolly and I definitely play into it,” she said, “but I hope overall that’s just a message that people take away from me.”
