Online dating service eHarmony isn't taking Chemisty.com's advertorial attacks lying down. The company - which got its start under James Dobson's Bible-thumping thumb - has hired famed lawyer Lanny J. Davis - who helped Clinton during that whole Lewisnky blow job brouhaha.
In an effort to save his client's hide, Davis has asked NBC and People to stop running Chemistry.com's adverts, which highlight eHarmony's irrational, allegedly discriminatory practices.
As you may recall, one commercial features a man saying eHarmony rejected his application because he's gay.
eHarmony alleges that Chemistry.com - which is owned by Barry Diller's Match.com - and their commercials trivialize - even scandalize - eHarmony's strict guidelines. Washington Post reports:
[eHarmony's] concerned that its rival's ads suggest that eHarmony is being arbitrary — or worse, racially and religiously discriminatory — in turning people away.
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The biggest reason for rejection, it says, is that the applicant is married. Stunningly, nearly one-third of the company's rejects (30 percent) fell into this category. Others are blocked because they're younger than the minimum application age of 21 (27 percent) or because the applicant gives inconsistent answers (9 percent), based on responses to eHarmony's 258-question application.
eHarmony big wig Greg Waldorf also claims that eHarmony does not discriminate against the gays. They just haven't figured out how to work them into its romantic, marriage-inclinded web:
Waldorf says eHarmony's matching system is based on psychological research about heterosexual relationships. Because it doesn't have similar data on gay people, he says, the company isn't confident that it can offer successful matches to same-sex couples. "I'm not saying anything precludes us from going into the same-sex market in the future," he says, "but it's not a service we offer now."
Psychology being used to exclude gays? eHarmony sure is cutting edge.
For the record, People has refused to get involved in this lover's spat.
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Can't understand (seriously!) why a gay man would bother trying to get on this site when there are 999,999 gay dating sites out there. I mean, yes, they're right-wing dingbats. but it's a private company and it's not like we don't have any other choices. Seems to be a manufactured "controversy." (BTW, how many str8 people have complained about not being able to get onto Manhunt or Gay.com?)
my guess is that str8 guys would be welcome at gay sites, as long as they play nice. i'd be fine with eharmony being a str8s-only site if they advertised themselves that way.
otherwise, i'm fine with seeing them exposed as the dobson-run loony bin that is behind the mask of the kindly old spokesperson. it's main rival, match.com, has always tried to find mates of all persuasions.
for the record, gay.com has "straight" as an option on its personals profiles.
and this article's focus is not that eharmony is discriminating (they're a private company providing an optional service, so they can do pretty much whatever they please) but rather that they're pissed/scared that the competition has a better marketing campaign than they do. and are trying to unfairly stifle chemistry.com.