Georgie Purcell is a tattooed ex stripper dubbed ‘politician Barbie’ who talks openly about her old job to ‘uproot misogyny’ and has become a social media star with her clubbing videos

From sharing photos of herself pole-dancing to posting TikToks about animal rights and DIY memes full of innuendo, Georgie Purcell is far from your average politician.

The former lawyer became a member of the Victorian Legislative Council representing Northern Victoria in Australia in  2022, and since has grown a massive online following, calling herself ‘politician Barbie’ and sharing clips of her discussing policy, drink beer, and dancing.

The 31-year-old member of the Animal Justice Party uses her social media to post Gen-Z friendly videos, filled with slides and bright colours to explaining policy in a simple way.

Her unapologetically fun way of embracing a social life while advocating for social change has drawn comparisons to Sanna Marin, the former Finnish Prime Minister who was elected aged just 34 and found international fame when hundreds came to her defence when she was criticised for dancing.

But her past is even more colourful than the former Finnish Prime Minister – with Georgie often discussing her past as a pole-dancer and topless waitress.

The heavily tattooed MP is the youngest woman in any Australian parliament and the second youngest ever to be elected to the state’s Legislative Council.

And her CV is very impressive. As well as racking up nearly 200,000 followers on social media, and holding a double degree in  in law and communications and politics, the MP uses her past as a sex worker to uproot sexism and misogyny.

Recently, she shared snaps of herself pole dancing to hit back at trolls who criticised her for working as a stripper.

And it’s just the latest bump on her path to parliament has been beset by hurdles because of her ink and former life as a stripper, which left her open to attacks from trolls and political enemies. 

Georgie, who calls herself ‘politician Barbie’ on TikTok,  previously told Daily Mail Australia she was just 19  and studying law at university when she took up work as a topless waitress and stripper, while also working at the post office.

Despite trying her best to keep her job private from her personal life, it all changed when she was tagged in a Facebook post.

‘I worked far away from where I studied and grew up so I wouldn’t meet anyone I knew, and while I felt there was nothing wrong with that line of work, I knew many others would think otherwise,’ she said.

‘Then one day I was sitting at the hairdresser and when I logged into Facebook, I saw I was tagged in a picture without my consent which showed me working as a stripper and there were tonnes of comments.

‘I grew up in a small country town in Geelong (a city southwest of Melbourne)  so everyone kind of knows everyone and it just spread really quickly and viciously.’

After the picture was shared, Georgie said she felt her life wasn’t worth living any more, and thought her law career was over as she would never be viewed as a fit and proper person.

Trolls messaged her to tell her she was disgusting and should be ashamed – many from people she went to university with. 

The abuse saw her withdraw from on-campus learning just two years into her five-year degree.

Georgie said she was made to feel like a bad person because of her choice of work, which led to her eventual diagnosis with PTSD amid regular bouts of anxiety.

She thought her dreams of a career in politics were over, but after being employed as the chief of staff for former Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick, she decided to run for parliament herself, deciding to out the skeleton in the closet before a political enemy could use it against her.

‘Politics is so vicious and brutal that when you have political enemies, they will find out anything about you,’ she added. 

‘So a couple of years in I shared my story, writing an opinion piece about what I had been through,’ she said.

‘We all have a past and digital footprint and for younger politicians, it is much more traceable than the average politician, so after I shared my story I felt the weight was lifted off my shoulders.

‘After I did it I became a new person. I gained self-confidence and because of my past I thought I could only be a spectator, not a participant but now two years later I am an elected MP, it has been a whirlwind experience.’

She now post videos about why former sex workers should have a place in Parliament. 

She credits Fiona Patten, another MP, as her mentor.

Taking to TikTok she wrote: ‘I have said so many times that politics was never part of my plan.

‘Not because I didn’t want to, but because I always thought it wasn’t a place for someone like me.

‘Whenever I am asked what or who changed my perspective, I talk about my good friend and mentor Fiona  Patten, who helped change the course for women with colourful backgrounds to enter politics.

‘She helped me realise that what I once perceived as some of my biggest weaknesses were actually my biggest strengths – and that I have a unique story to tell’.

Her policies focus on animal rights, with her campaigning to ban duck shooting and dog racing in Australia.

So committed is she to animal rights, she had a vegan wedding in 2019, despite the majority of her guests being meat eaters.

She now lives on a farm with 16 orphan lambs, five rescue cats, and three dogs saved from puppy farms 

Georgie also proudly archives her achievements and beliefs in the many tattoos inked on her body.

She has a tattoo of a wombat after she helped to bring in laws banning recreational shooting of the animal, and another of a duck, the next animal she intends to protect from shooters.

Another one of her tattoos depicts a woman boxing next to the phrase, ‘stand your ground’.

She has also made a nod to her past in the adult entertainment industry with a tattoo of a stripper on a pole with the words, ‘real work’.

On Valentine’s Day she made sexually-suggestive meme posts with one meme that read: ‘I’d get wet for you’ showing her rescuing ducks.

Others have read: ‘Are you the greyhound racing industry? Because I’m going to destroy you’. 

Georgie also often speaks out about misogynistic attacks she receives.

On International Women’s Day she wore a shirt complete with the vile slurs she’d been called in Parliament.

Writing about the dress for the Guardian, she explained: ‘The threats we receive on our phones through emails, text messages and social media are ever-constant to the point we build up a resilience that should be considered unhealthy. 

‘Every politician, regardless of gender, expects to be challenged on their policy. As we should be. Yet for women, it consistently goes beyond politics. It goes to the personal. 

‘I’m wearing my online harassment to work by donning a dress to Parliament House adorned with just some of the tweets, emails and comments I’ve received since being elected.

‘Despite the online abuse I receive being particularly vile and misogynistic – due to my past as a stripper – my situation is not unique. The scars and damage of online harassment to female politicians are a burden across party lines,’ she added. 

‘Another brain-dead bimbo covered in tats with no life experience and no idea what the really important issues are. This is going to be well-spent tax money,’ it read.

In another social media post she said that it was a ‘reality’ that women ‘usually have to work harder to be taken seriously’.

‘And then when we get where we want to be, we have to justify our ability to do the job, receive judgement on how we look and dress, and constantly recite our education and life experience,’ she wrote.

‘I knew this would happen in public life, but that doesn’t make it ok, and I want to make it clear that I won’t tolerate it.

‘PS – something tells me old mate wouldn’t approve of some of my work experience x’.

Georgie said she is regularly contacted by young women asking for advice and says she likes ‘showing them they can do anything and there is no shame about it’.

‘The advice I give is there is nothing shameful about working in sex work or adult work when it is consensual,’ she said.

‘Those who should be ashamed are those who want to bring that out and try to destroy you by using it.

‘The narrative is shifting nowadays as if what happened to me in 2012 happened in 2023 it would be handled so differently and it is great to see how much we have moved forward as a society and how women are viewed.’

She’s also faced controversy when an Australian news network  aired  a doctored photograph of herself during a news bulletin.

The Animal Justice Party MP said a picture of her was Photoshopped to make her breasts look bigger and he outfit more revealing. 

In her post, the heavily tattooed politician shared the image from the segment alongside the original photo, which was taken last year. 

‘I endured a lot yesterday. But having my body and outfit photoshopped by a media outlet was not on my bingo card,’ she wrote.

‘Note the enlarged boobs and outfit to be made more revealing. Can’t imagine this happening to a male MP. What gives?’ 

The image used by Nine also showed Ms Purcell wearing a crop top that showed her bare midriff. 

Ms Purcell noted this couldn’t have been her body for one very obvious reason – she has had her stomach tattooed since 2020. 

‘Hot tip 9 I’ve got my whole stomach tattooed,’ she wrote.

Director of 9News Melbourne Hugh Nailon issued a grovelling apology to Ms Purcell on Tuesday after Daily Mail Australia approached the network for comment. 

‘I would like to sincerely apologise to Georgie Purcell for a graphic error that occurred in last night’s bulletin,’ Mr Nailon’s statement read. 

‘Our graphics department sourced an online image of Georgie to use in our story on duck hunting. As is common practice, the image was resized to fit our specs. During that process, the automation by Photoshop created an image that was not consistent with the original.

‘This did not meet the high editorial standards we have and for that we apologise to Ms Purcell unreservedly.’