Brianna Wu is an American activist in the conservative transgender community. Wu has also been a videogame developer, unsuccessful political candidate, and podcaster.
Wu has a long history of eccentric behavior, outright lying, questionable business practices, and attacks on other trans people. Because Wu has made so many provocative and false statements, toxic anti-trans online communities consider Wu a “careercow,” someone whose long-term behavior is worthy of “milking” for laughs. These trolls have made Wu one of the most meticulously documented trans people in history.
Wu has an extensive digital footprint dating back to the 1990s. Because Wu’s decades of trolling and attention-seeking behaviors are difficult to summarize, this profile focuses on Wu’s controversial involvement with transgender politics as a transsexual separatist and transmedicalist.
Background
Main page: Biography
Brianna Walker Wu (née Flynt) was born on July 6, 1977 in Portsmouth, Virginia (some sources claim West Virginia) and was assigned male at birth. Wu reportedly does not have information about either birth parent.
Adoptive parent Joel Ray Flynt, a Navy veteran, OG/GYN, and entrepreneur, was born in 1948. Adoptive parent Laura W. Flynt, who has a degree in microbiology, was born in 1949. The Flynts later had two biological children, Margie and Warren.
In 1980 the Flynts returned to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where Joel Flynt opened The Women’s Clinic of Hattiesburg that year with a friend. It was the first of the Flynts’ several successful business ventures.
Wu has described both parents as “conservative religious extremists” and “millionaire entrepreneurs” who reportedly disowned Wu around 2005. Although Wu grew up in immense privilege and wealth, Wu has described a painful and traumatic childhood filled with deeply internalized shame and feelings of inadequacy about being trans.
Education claims and facts
Main page: Education claims
Wu attended public schools in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, claiming “I had to repeat this seventh grade.” Wu claimed, “When I was 14 I organized a ralley to institute prayer in my public school.” Wu graduated from Hattiesburg High School in 1995.
After taking a year off between graduating high school and starting college, Wu sporadically attended University of Mississippi and Millsaps College from 1996 to 2006 but did not earn a degree from either school. Wu was a notorious figure on both campuses for eccentric and troubling behavior.
Wu was intensely interested in Greek life but was not a member of any house. Wu claimed in a draft of the novel Election Eve to have served as a “houseboy” at Zeta Tau Alpha sorority at University of Mississippi, which closed in 1999:
“Here is what I loved about being a houseboy for the Zetas. A lot of these girls straight up, had gigantic badonkadonk asses. But what makes me love them so, is it never made them miss a beat with their drinking and partying. I salute the women of Zeta Tau Alpha, because the size of a girl’s badonkadonk should NEVER interfere with her partying.”
Education timeline:
- 1996: enrolled at University of Mississippi in the Fall (1 semester)
- 1997: left University of Mississippi (after 1 or 2 more semesters)
- 1998: enrolled at Millsaps College for Spring and Fall (2 semesters)
- 1999: dropped out of Millsaps to found an animation studio that failed in a year
- 2000: returned to Millsaps for Spring and Fall (2 semesters)
- 2001: dropped out of Millsaps again, published an unorthodox resume, moved to Washington, DC to work for Republicans
- 2002: animation studio legally dissolved; Wu sent to drug rehab in Mississippi by parents
- 2003: re-enrolled at University of Mississippi in Fall (1 semester)
- 2004: at University of Mississippi in Spring and Fall (2 semesters)
- 2005: at University of Mississippi in Spring and Fall (2 semesters)
- 2006: at University of Mississippi in Spring (1 semester)
On July 29, 2006, Wu left college for the fourth time at age 29 without a degree (after ten years and 12 or 13 semesters).
Wu frequently claimed to have a college degree until that was independently confirmed to be false in 2015.
Pre-transition media projects
Main page: Media projects
Wu became intensely interested in Japanese comics, animation, and video games in adolescence. Wu was especially interested in Sailor Moon, later creating a website dedicated to villains from the series. Wu’s parents also indulged Wu’s interest in LEGO bricks as well as cars and computers, with lavish gifts and state-of-the-art devices.
In college, Wu was intensely interested in the student newspapers and Greek life at both schools. After reportedly having problems getting work published in the Daily Mississippian at University of Mississippi, Wu transferred to Millsaps College. There, Wu contributed articles to the Millsaps Purple & White. Wu also contributed comic strips, most notably a strip with a masculine self-insert called Socially Unconscious.
Wu dropped out of Millsaps in 1999 to start an animation studio called Socially Unconscious Productions. The goal was to produce an animated film based on the strip’s masculine self-insert, with the working title The Cracker. The business failed in about a year.
Wu returned to Millsaps in 2000 for two semesters. That Fall, Wu published three more Socially Unconscious comics in the Purple & White, this time in a new art style centered on “boozy, cutthroat socialites” in a fictional sorority and a group of women at a fictional student newspaper. The new strip was criticized by students and faculty for its unflattering depictions of women and was discontinued after three installments. Wu then dropped out of Millsaps again, published an unorthodox resume, and moved to Washington, DC to work for Republicans.
In 2002, Wu’s parents legally dissolved Socially Unconscious Productions after failing to receive any payments on $170,000 in loans. Wu’s parents then sent Wu to rehab for drug addiction.
Wu continued writing new material in the Socially Unconscious universe, creating a sockpuppet coauthor named “Lauren Milovy.” Some of the Socially Unconscious characters, which included a feminine self-insert named Brea Anamatata, were developed into characters in Wu’s 2014 videogame Revolution 60 produced by Giant Spacekat (GSX).
Gender transition and marriage
Main article: Biography
In 1998, Wu discovered FictionMania, a website for transgender erotic fiction, and spent the next eight years consuming its content. Wu claims FictionMania was a factor in delaying transition. Wu was also a member at Susan’s Place, a forum primarily frequented by older crossdressers and transsexual people. In 2007, the site owner removed Wu from being a chat moderator “for actions unbecoming a staff member” following conflicts with other members.
In February 2006, Wu began taking hormones and broke up with a girlfriend after four years together. Wu was reportedly disowned by both parents around the start of making a gender transition. Cut off financially at age 29 after leaving college a fourth time, Wu moved to Colorado and reportedly lived with a group of other trans people at the home of Connie Place (1946–2007).
In 2008, Wu underwent vaginoplasty with Marci Bowers. Also that year, Wu married scientist and artist Frank Wu, taking Wu’s surname.
After making a gender transition, Wu was not publicly forthcoming about being trans, despite being outed many times. In 2015, Wu addressed the matter, writing: “Ultimately, being transgender is a private, very serious medical issue that needs to be addressed as early in life as possible. I don’t think it’s helpful to anyone involved to treat it like a litmus test, where a person must come out publicly. […] I choose to not respond, because nothing I can say in response to this accomplishes anything worthwhile.”
Wu explicitly acknowledged being trans in September 2024.
Videogame development and Gamergate
Main articles: Media projects and Gamergate
Following transition and marriage, Wu returned to the characters developed for Socially Unconscious Productions. After meeting in 2009, Wu and Amanda Warner co-founded Giant Spacekat in 2010 to develop videogames. Emma Clarkson and others have described the challenges of working for Wu on the game. In 2013, Wu incorporated Chessboard Holdings LLC, doing business as Giant Spacekat. Following a 2013 crowdfunding campaign, Wu released Revolution 60 for iOS in 2014. Gadanin Productions LLC (founded by Frank Wu in 2006) registered a US trademark on Revolution 60™ in 2014 and a European Union trademark in 2015.
Wu got involved in the GamerGate controversy, a complex online harassment campaign that began in 2014 as a backlash against progressivism in video game culture. Wu’s trolling of GamerGate trolls predictably led to harassment and threats, as well as a significant career boost. Wu got a Wikipedia biography, board positions, speaking gigs, a TV development deal, and extensive sympathetic media coverage in the wake of deliberately provoking Gamergate trolls. Wu started a successful crowdfunding campaign to hire an administrator to deal with the reported harassment, but critics claim “Natalie O’Brien” was another fake person created by Wu in order to pocket the money raised for an assistant.
In 2014 Wu announced a children’s division called Giant Spacekitten and a game called Cupcake Crisis that was never released.
In November 2014, Wu and Anna Megill announced Project Untold (originally called Project GoGo), which was created to develop Megill’s idea for interactive media. Wu devised a scheme to raise $23 million in venture capital “to build games that are going to let you interact with stories and in extremely organic ways.” In January 2015, Megill began freelancing and launched a Patreon, writing: “Giant Spacekat is funding Untold with venture capital, but that takes time. I have to survive in the meantime. So I set up a patreon.” Megill’s Patreon was later removed.
On February 13, 2015, anti-trans extremist Milo Yiannopoulos wrote a transphobic exposé confirming that Wu is transgender and independently confirming that Wu falsely claimed to have a college degree. On February 19, Wu announced that Giant Spacekat was withdrawing their expo hall presence from the upcoming gaming convention PAX East, reportedly due to security concerns. The announcement led to significant press coverage for Wu, and critics called it a publicity stunt, which Wu denied. Wu and other Giant Spacekat employees attended PAX East panels. Megill’s business relationship with Brianna Wu appears to have ended soon after that. Project Untold was never released.
Giant Spacekat released a remastered version of Revolution 60 for other platforms in 2016, reportedly selling about 4,000 copies on Steam. An announced sequel called Revolution 62 was never released.
Amanda Warner left Giant Spacekat in May 2016.
Wu was involved in a controversy surrounding panels at the 2016 SXSW conference, most notably an Online Harassment Summit.
Podcasts
Main article: Podcasts
Starting in May 2014, Wu began co-hosting podcasts, producing hundreds of episodes that focus on gaming and technology.
- Isometric: 102 episodes (May 2014 – April 2016)
- Disruption: 90 episodes (April 2016 – January 2018)
- Rocket: 470 episodes (January 2015 – December 2023)
Wu has appeared on hundreds more podcast episodes as a guest.
Wu is extremely interested in online “drama” in streaming, podcasting, social media, and gaming. Wu has had conflicts and debates with many prominent gamers, podcasters, and streamers, including trans streamers like Clara Sorrenti (Keffals).
Politics
Main article: Politics
Wu’s parents were active in Republican politics, and Wu’s interest in politics began in adolescence. Wu reportedly interned for Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) and later left college in 2001 to work in Washington, DC for Republicans. Wu claimed to have become “handicapped” following a mugging in April 2003: “I was nearly beaten to death in a brutal mugging 2 weeks after we invaded Iraq. They told me I’d never function fully again.”
Wu wrote additional materials in the Socially Unconscious universe that included a political storyline titled Election Eve.
Wu maintained an interest in politics, posting generally progressive political opinions frequently on Twitter starting in 2008.
In the wake of increased visibility following involvement in Gamergate, Wu announced a run for Congress in December 2016. Wu appeared on the 2018 Democratic primary ballot for Massachusetts Congressional District 8. Wu’s campaign centered on the Gamergate controversy. Wu lost to incumbent Stephen Lynch in the Democratic primary held on September 4, 2018, having received approximately 23% of the vote (16,878 votes) to Lynch’s 71% (52,269 votes).
Wu ran for the same Congressional seat again in 2020 but suspended the second campaign in April 2020, citing COVID.
On September 25, 2019, anti-trans conspiracy theorist Alex Jones sued Wu, Andrew Kimmel, and The Young Turks for defamation. The case was voluntarily dismissed by Jones on November 29, 2019.
In 2019 Wu joined political action committee Rebellion PAC with fellow former Republican Cenk Uygur. In April 2025 Wu announced the decision to take a “step back” from serving as Executive Director of Rebellion PAC to focus on health issues.
Wu led operations and was reportedly equivalent to a vice president in the organization Progressive Victory, which was founded in 2022.
Critics have raised concerns about how Wu’s campaigns and “dark money” organizations have operated.
In April 2025, Wu expressed interest in another bid for political office pending results of voice surgery.
Conservative transgender activism
In 2023, Wu wrote: “I’m pretty good at sensing when political winds are shifting. I am telling you, this is the moment we can shun the most toxic tendencies of the progressive movement.”
In late 2023, Wu became a vocal supporter of Zionism, which led to a break with many progressive former allies and supporters. In April 2025, Wu traveled to Israel, posting many pro-Zionist statements and appearing on Israeli media.
In September 2024, Wu acknowledged being trans and became a vocal critic of moderate and progressive transgender people. In October 2024, Wu launched Dollcast, a conservative transgender podcast. In the wake of the 2024 election of Donald Trump, Wu began making the rounds in the media and at speaking engagements to promote transsexual separatism and transmedicalism, often collaborating with prominent anti-trans figures and attacking progressive trans people and their allies.
As with the Gamergate trolling in 2014 and support of Zionism in 2023, this pivot to criticizing the trans community in 2024 led to significantly increased money and attention for Wu. A conservative trans streamer described Wu’s tactics:
She’s constantly baiting people into canceling her, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed this, by the way. Rule number one of being a grifter: never cite your beliefs or opinions, only cite the backlash you got for whatever you said. You would be shocked at how effective this on normies.
In the course of preparing this profile, one thing became clear: anything Wu claims must be independently confirmed before repeated as fact. This profile will be expanded as more facts comes to light.
References
Chudy, Emily (November 22, 2024). Why trans game developer Brianna Wu is such a controversial figure. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/11/22/brianna-wu-trans-community-controversy/
Wilson, Vivian Jenna (October 19, 2024). “Trans grifters like Brianna are a dime a dozen and they’re all equally interchangeable and just… kinda sad tbh. I’ve never seen a group of people brag about hating themselves so brazenly lol.” https://www.threads.net/@vivllainous/post/DBT67swy9qp?hl=en
Giardina, Henry (September 6, 2024). Did this truscum trans woman sell out her community for a Porsche? Into https://www.intomore.com/the-internet/scandal/did-this-truscum-trans-woman-sell-out-her-community-for-a-porsche/
The Humanist Report (July 19, 2024). Leftist-Turned-Grifter Brianna Wu Sides with Elon Musk, Opposes Law Protecting LGBTQ+ Youth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1pneTxKVbc
Nichols, John (July 30, 2019). When It Comes to Tech, Politicians Are Doing a Terrible Job. The Nation https://www.thenation.com/podcast/politics/brianna-wu-technology-next-left/ “Born in West Virginia…”
Cheong, Ian Miles (December 26, 2016). The Unsavory Past of GamerGate ‘Victim’ and Congressional Candidate Brianna Wu. HeatStreet http://heatst.com/politics/the-unsavory-past-of-gamergate-victim-and-congressional-candidate-brianna-wu/ [archive]
Whitford, David (April 2015). Brianna Wu vs. the Gamergate Troll Army. Inc. https://www.inc.com/magazine/201504/david-whitford/gamergate-why-would-anyone-want-to-kill-brianna-wu.html
[CW: outing, deadnaming, transphobia] Yiannopoulos, Milo (February 13, 2015). The Wacky World of Wu: The Tortured History of GamerGate’s Self-Styled Feminist Martyr. Breitbart https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2015/02/13/the-wacky-world-of-wu-the-tortured-history-of-gamergates-self-styled-feminist-martyr/
Wu, Brianna (February 2015). About Brianna Wu. https://spacechannel6.com/BriannaWu “Born in West Virginia…”
Beth Teitell and Callum Borchers (October 30, 2014). GamerGate anger at women all too real for gamemaker. Boston Globe http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2014/10/29/threatening-video-gaming-industry-movement-grows-arlington-game-developer-forced-flee-her-home/BRHwDSGjMsSnHquH9jYQIJ/story.html