By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
#DeleteGrindr is trending over past tweets supporting Trump, DeSantis, Youngkin, and more from the hookup app's new CEO.
The right-wing political views of the new head of Grindr are causing some users to delete the popular gay dating and hookup app.
The tag #DeleteGrindr is trending after news incoming CEO George Arison, 44, previously tweeted he was a conservative who supported some of the positions of then-President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Arison, who is gay, starts his new job October 19.
"FYI I am a conservative & agree with some Trump policies," Arison wrote in a since-deleted tweet on February 28, 2020.
None— dan q. dao (@dan q. dao) 1665595329
"Should totally run for President," he wrote of Youngkin in a retweet dated February 24 of this year.
None— Leo Brown He/They \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f (@Leo Brown He/They \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f) 1665799187
Arison appeared to express support for DeSantis in another retweet from January. In the retweet, he wrote that the man who championed the "don't say gay" law was "not ideal" but agreed the Republican governor was "better-suited to advance a new, more comabtive [sic] and populist party."
None— goldi lock (@goldi lock) 1642744888
Users on social media responded quickly, calling out the past statements from Arison.
\u201cYour new Grindr CEO, folks. https://t.co/Fk5a0nxdKH\u201d— Aaron Lecklider (@Aaron Lecklider) 1665530622
Another user called out Arison's support for Youngkin.
\u201cGrindr\u2019s new CEO thinks Glen Youngkin should run for President \u2014 the Republican Governor who wants to out LGBTQ+ students to their parents and roll back protections for trans kids. Gross.\u201d— borscht belt barbie (parody) (@borscht belt barbie (parody)) 1665590069
Others indicated they were ditching Grindr.
\u201cIf anybody is still using Grindr, this is the incoming new CEO.\n\nBye bye !\u201d— \ud83d\udc31 That One Pink Cat \ud83d\udc31 (@\ud83d\udc31 That One Pink Cat \ud83d\udc31) 1665589504
Arison came to Grindr from e-commerce marketplace Shift Technologies, where he was CEO and cofounder.
In a statement to The Advocate about the issue, Grindr centered on Arison's identity as a gay man, husband, and father.
"George is an out gay man, proudly married to his husband and the father of two children," a Grindr spokesperson said. "George is passionate about fighting for the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ people around the world."
