ABOVE: Incoming Grindr CEO George Arison. Photo via the LA Blade.
WEST HOLLYWOOD | Some LGBTQ Grindr users are advocating people delete the popular dating app after old Twitter posts surfaced supporting anti-LGBTQ right wing politicians by the new incoming openly gay Grindr Chief Executive Officer George Arison were shared and retweeted.
Arison, 44, identified himself as a “conservative,” supporting some Trump policies in a tweet he deleted, in a 2020 thread that appeared to show support for former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg in the presidential race that year.
Grindr which boasts about 11 million gay, bisexual, transgender and queer users per month around the world, is preparing to go public this fall with a $2.1 billion valuation. Arison is slated to take over as CEO on Oct. 19.
The controversy over Arison’s right-wing leaning support, which extended to Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin who have anti-LGBTQ records, comes on the heels of controversy stemming from Facebook posts published by former Grindr CEO Scott Chen:
“Some think marriage is between a man and a woman. I think so, too, but it’s a personal matter,” he wrote. “Some people think the purpose of marriage is to have your own biological children. It’s a personal matter, too.”
In another tweet earlier this year as well, Arison weighed in on Governor Ron DeSantis:
Arison, the openly gay founder and former CEO of Shift Technologies, takes over as the app continues revamping its help center, community guidelines, and safety tips. Grindr has also worked to fight the sexual exploitation of minors and mitigate instances of bullying on the app.
In the months since the conservative leaning tweets Arison has also retweeted a mixture of progressive posts and voicing support for Ukraine.
Ahead of its merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and as it is preparing to go public, Grindr in addition to naming Arison CEO, also formed a board comprised of 60% LGBTQ+ members.
A spokesperson for the company referring to the online outrage over the past tweets and right-wing leaning retweets and tweets by Arison in a statement to media outlets said:
“George [Arison] is an out gay man, proudly married to his husband and the father of two children,” Grindr said. “George is passionate about fighting for the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ people around the world.”
