Today is a very special day in TomatoSmosh history.

A day that celebrates the absolute comedy-and-acting-genius, Angela Giovann Giarratana.

Without Angela, nobody would be here on this page, congregating over silly moments and a love for a very rare soul.

Angela is that rare kind of person who is thoughtful, compassionate, kind-hearted, and wise. If you’ve ever talked with her, it feels like talking with a therapist. She’s a natural conversationalist and strives to make her friends feel loved, heard, accepted, and valued.

She’s the kind of person who would drop anything for the people she loves, and would sacrifice above and beyond in order to help them out.

You don’t find an Angela very frequently in this world.

In fact, there is only one Angela Giovann Giarratana in this whole entire world. Just one. Only one Angela. There isn’t anyone else exactly like her.

And that is why all of us who have come to love her so much are here on her birthday to celebrate her, to tell her how loved she is, and to make her day special, because she’s given us something that it would be very hard to return as fans: joy and light.

Even though Angela is a celebrity, and an exponentially growing one at that, she is humble and never forgets to make the chat feel appreciated. She’s only a single person, and of course she can’t get to everything, but her heart is in everything she does.

She does it for us, she does it for the people she loves, and she does it for the love of it.

She’s passionate, driven, powerful, inspiring, and I think many of us could never have been where we are today without her.

I know I wouldn’t have been.

Without Angela, I personally would still be stuck in one of the darkest places of my life. I would be alone, I would be struggling: emotionally, physically, financially; I would be lost in a dark place with no way out.

Many of you know I only just returned to the Smosh community last year in May, after leaving the community in early 2020 (or even possibly late 2019). And, at that, I was never an editor, only an audience member.

The thing that brought me back looking for Smosh, was a bleak afternoon in mid-March of 2024. I knew I was lost. I knew that I wasn’t sure I would make it out of the situation I was in, alive. I didn’t know what my life meant or if it had purpose at all.

I certainly had lost hope. I had beyond lost hope.

And in my desperation, I turned to comedy. An old comfort. A final resort.

I never much liked Smosh a ton (ik, but I promise I’m not a betrayer), but I needed reprieve. So I searched it out again.

It was March 11th, I think, when I watched “Court Is In Session” (All Rise, Board AF, Smosh Games). I didn’t fall in love with Smosh immediately after then, but I was so curious about the new cast and noticed a significant (positive) difference in the content Smosh put out. So I continued watching.

Over time, as I watched more episodes and heard Angela talk about her journey and career in the film industry, I fell in love with listening to it. About her journey, her passion, her struggles, and to simply watch the way she interacted so kindly with people.

She has the kind of upbeat energy that I lost when I was really little. But I saw myself in her. And it made me miss my young self. It made me miss the little girl that I let the world beat down.

I really admired Angela, and I still do, for the way that she’s so emotionally intelligent, the way that she navigates friendships, and for the way that she has somehow remained herself – I know that took resilience in this world.

I know it couldn’t have been easy for her at all. Even just seeing and hearing the ways that some people talk about her, it reminds me of how people used to bully me. But she’s still out there being herself and that’s something I respect and look up to and admire so deeply. It’s magic, really, her personality and her spirit.

That’s not to say that I think that Angela is above human. No, we all have a messy humanity, we all make big mistakes and small mistakes and daily blunders. We all struggle far more deeply than the eye will ever see. None of us are perfect. None of us are a god. And I think, as a human, Angela deserves far more grace than to be held at that standard.

But she’s as close as someone can humanly get to being an angel.

I know she was my angel from heaven.

She struck something in me, giving me a possibility and a fire for the next step in life; that maybe it could be beautiful. And it allowed me to make crazy, last-minute decisions in a final resort to grasp new hope… So, after I started TomatoSmosh in June, I sold my house, moved to a different state, went back to Uni, and started a business.

But I would not have been here without Angela.

I wouldn’t have even been close.

I wouldn’t have ever been given the silent permission to run after a better life, without somebody to just show me how it could be on the other side. Someone so similar to me.

Angela is one of the reasons I believe in miracles.

And she’s the biggest reason I’m here today.

She may be human, but that’s exactly why she’s able to make such a deep impact. Because she’s had it rough, too. She struggled (and still struggles) like I did (and still do). This world treats her a lot the way it treated me. But she survived it. And she found people who help her thrive, now, too. And maybe I can have that one day.

She’s a literal icon. A truly powerful voice.

An everyday angel who saved my life. Who touched my heart and my life without having to meet face-to-face. (Though I’m lucky enough that I’ve also been able to meet her since.)

Thus, to celebrate Angela, I’ve attempted to return to her something of equal value of what she gave to me. She gave me the hope of possibility and a new chance at life, and I’m giving her a reminder of how important her life is. (via a compilation of her friends loving her, and a reminder of just some of the ways she makes a difference.)

This is also the reason why I support as many of Angela’s projects as possible; because they are deeply meaningful, not just to me but in the difference she makes for other people, too.

And it’s why TomatoSmosh drives ticket sales for Angela’s shows. I want her to be able to see the difference she makes, and I think community coming together and supporting her is just one of the ways that will make her feel loved and valued.
To just see how much (and how many) people support her might show her that she really does make a difference and is important in all our lives.

Some people need new chances and to finally discover a new fire for their next step, and other people who are already walking into their dreams just need to be reminded that what they are doing really is full of purpose and making a meaningful difference. Everything TomatoSmosh does is an attempt to return thanks to Angela for who she is and to celebrate her impact in the everyday.

And so, for her birthday, I’ve compiled this short edit.

Without further ado, a celebration of the one and only Angela Giarratana 💕🫶🏻
I think you are just as incredible and wonderful and legendary as all of your (and America’s) long-beloved idols.

Happy birthday, Angela, we all love you so, so much. Please don’t ever forget that you’re making a difference, even if you don’t ever get to see just how much. Because some people are only here because of you. Some people only found a second chance at life because of your story and your spirit. Your existence gives people life. You are absolutely enough just the way you are 💙 You don’t have to be everything to change people’s lives. Your presence itself matters. You being honest to who you are matters.

You’re changing lives just being who you are: kind. Above all: kind.

That’s your superpower: your kind, gentle, loving, compassionate heart, and your story.

I hope you know what an honor it is to have been changed by you.

Be blessed 💙

Love,
TomatoSmosh🍅