Last week, Instinct reported that Scott Chen, the CEO of gay dating app Grindr, sparked some controversy on the subject of marriage equality.
The blog INTO, which is owned by Grindr, wrote that Chen had shared an article on his Facebook regarding Cher Wang, the CEO of HTC, who apparently supported anti-LGBTQ organizations in the recent public referendum on same-sex marriage in Taiwan.
Responding to commenters on the post, Chen apparently wrote, in part, “There are people who believe that marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman.”
Many folks took his comment that “marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman” as being anti-marriage equality.
INTO updated its report when Chen later issued a statement saying, in part, “The words I chose related to marriage between a man and a woman were meant to express my personal feelings about my own marriage to my wife – not to suggest that I am opposed to marriage equality.”
He went on to say that he has long considered himself “an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.”
“ I support gay marriage and I am proud that I can work for Grindr,” he added. “I apologize that my words did not clearly convey these feelings.”
Now, other gay dating app companies are chiming in on the subject.
CEO and co-founder of SCRUFF, Eric Silverberg, posted a video message expressing his concern that comments from the leaders of gay-centric businesses can have the power to set LGBTQ progress back in terms of equal rights and representation.
He began his message by stating up front that he is “unequivocally in favor of gay marriage.”
“When leaders in the gay community say these things, they disrespect the decades long work of marriage equality activists and give credibility to far-right politicians who are trying to roll back these rights.”
Silverberg also urged tech leaders to understand and further the moral agenda of the communities they serve.
“Let’s move our swipes and ‘likes’ to online communities led by people who stand behind their beliefs and actions, and who have a moral intuition that reflects our community,” he said in closing.
And dating app Jack’d posted a short video response via Instagram which shows Grindr’s recently announced ‘Kindr’ campaign, but it’s quickly overwhelmed by screen shots of the Chen/Grindr story.
It ends with the words “Love is Love.” Watch below.
