This is such devastating news!
It is with great sadness we have to report that Mat George from the hit podcast She Rates Dogs is dead after a hit-and-run. According to the LAPD, the beloved co-host was walking on an unmarked crosswalk on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles at about 2:20 a.m. Saturday morning when he was struck by a white BMW, which sped away without checking on the victim.
George was pronounced dead on the scene. He was just 26 years old.
Michaela Okland, his counterpart on the popular podcast known for hilarious stories about the horrors of dating and inspiring takes on mental health, broke the news to fans on Saturday. She wrote on her Twitter:
“I would rather you guys here [sic] this from me than a news article. Mat was killed in a hit and run last night. 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.”
The next day, in reference to realizing she wrote “here” when she meant “hear,” she couldn’t help but note about her fallen friend:
“I know he’s laughing at me for having such a stupid typo in the first sentence of this.”
OH NO don’t make us laugh right now!
Later she wrote back to all those who had commented:
“Thank you to everybody who’s reached out, I’m really sorry but I probably won’t respond for awhile even if we are close. And thank you so much to everybody telling stories and sharing how he impacted you. Whenever you think of him in the future, please do talk about him.”
She posted a few more memories of her BFF, including ones shared from other friends:
He loveeeed singing the wrong words to songs. He would sing along to a song he had literally never heard before and I’d be like “do u know this song” and he’d be like “nope!!” And just keep making sounds
— michaela okland (@MichaelaOkla) July 18, 2021
— michaela okland (@MichaelaOkla) July 19, 2021
Like who just thinks stuff like this.. that amount of love and selflessness isn’t normal https://t.co/byiMQctUw9
— michaela okland (@MichaelaOkla) July 19, 2021
She also wrote something which many fans took as confirmation of the end of the podcast:
“I really don’t want to do any of it without him man”
However, once she realized how people were taking it, she clarified in response to a fan who told her he’d want her to keep thriving:
“Honestly I didn’t even mean work I meant everything in life but thank u for this and you’re right”
Over on the She Rates Dogs Twitter page, she added more info about the future of the show, revealing:
“Mat and I recorded one more episode that was meant to come out Tuesday but it will likely be put on hold.”
She added:
“I know in years to come I’ll feel so lucky that there’s so many recordings of Mat’s laugh to revisit. I am not ready to talk about everything, or to have to use past-tense to describe him. I think you all knew within 10 seconds of listening to him how vibrant, loving, accepting, and wonderful Mat George is. This community made him so happy. Your words and support made him so happy. Thanks for talking about him.”
Finally, speaking to the fans he loved so much, she wrote:
“So many of the kind messages I’ve gotten note the fact that you all ‘didn’t know mat in real life’, but everybody who supported him truly meant more than you realize. He’d send me screenshots of your sweet messages, he shed tears when people told him he had helped them through issues (especially LGBT+ related). He referenced DMs from you all the time and how much it made his week & fueled his joy. You really did know him. He shared so much because he felt the people who listened to him were his friends.”
Mat had so, so many friends. He touched a lot of lives and will be sorely missed.
#RIP
BTW, the LAPD West Traffic Division detectives urge anyone with information regarding the accident to call them at 213-473-0234 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
[Image via Michaela Okland/Mat George/Instagram.]
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