Grindr’s President and CTO is Back Tracking On His Stance on Same-Sex Marriage

After just announcing that Taiwanese citizens overwhelmingly voted ‘no’ via a public referendum to amend the country’s Civil Code to allow same-sex marriage, president and former CTO of gay dating app Grindr Scott Chen posted an article on his Facebook page that sparked some controversy.

INTO reports that Chen shared an article about Cher Wang, CEO of HTC, who backed anti-LGBTQ+ groups influencing the referendum. Along with the article, Chen was very clear in stating:

There are people who believe that marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman. I agree but that’s none of our business. There are also people who believe that the purpose of marriage is to create children that carry their DNA. That’s also none of our business. There are people that are simply different from you, who desperately want to get married. They have their own reasons.

INTO, which is owned by Grindr, also shared that Chen acknowledged that marriage is a “personal issue” and he would never purchase HTC products again or donate to Christian groups.

Chen responded in the comments section:

The reason I said marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman is based on my own personal experience. I am a straight man married to a woman I love and I have two beautiful daughters I love from the marriage. This is how I feel about my marriage. Different people have their different feelings about their marriages. You can’t deny my feelings about my marriage.

I am a huge advocate for LGBTQ+ rights since I was young. I support gay marriage and I am proud that I can work for Grindr.

Chen has since deleted the post after it quickly picked up attention from followers. The Guardian reported that Chen’s post led to heated discussions with a relative.

Grindr was purchased by Kunlun Tech in January 2016 and Chen became CTO in 2017.

h/t: INTO, The Guardian