The president of an LGBT dating app known as Grindr is facing fierce backlash after posting a lengthy Facebook post about how “marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman." Scott Chen wrote and then deleted a post saying he disagrees with Christian groups who oppose gay marriage but also said it's his personal belief that marriage is between one man and one woman, The Guardian reported.
The post was originally written in Chinese but was later translated. Here's what it said (You can get the gist of what he said despite Google Translator's horrible sentence structure):
Someone thinks marriage is a holy combination of a male and a woman, and I also think it is, but this is your home.
Someone thinks the purpose of marriage is to to give birth to kids with their own DNA, but this is also your home.
That is, someone is not the same as you, and desperately hope they can get married and have their own reason.
Getting married is a personal thing, rich can't donate to the real poor hungry war disaster that needs help? Why spend money to stop people in love from getting married? Is nothing important in life?
Right, I won't buy THC products for a lifetime, and I won't donate any money to Taiwan's Christian groups for a lifetime!
What's even more ironic than Chen making his living overseeing an LBGT dating app while being against gay marriage? The publication that outed his Facebook post is owned by Grindr, meaning his own employees blasted him on the internet.
After facing backlash, Chen released a statement:
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.
According to Zach Stafford, editor of Into and Grindr’s chief content officer, Chen's comments didn't reflect the values of Grindr.
“Grindr’s goal as a company is to help seek the full equity of all LGBT people’s rights around the world, especially when it comes to dating and love. And marriage for many is an end goal to our app," Stafford told The Guardian.
Chen's comments were made after voters in Taiwan rejected LBGT legislation. Those pushing the legislation wanted to make Taiwan the first Asian country to allow gay couples to share custody of children and insurance benefits.
Chen became President of the mobile app earlier this year when Grindr's founder, Joel Simkhai, announced his departure. The app was then sold to the Kunlun Group, a Chinese technology firm. That's when Chen moved from being Chief Technology Officer to President.