Ellen brought out the tough questions for Bravo’s Andy Cohen this week.
“Are you on a gay dating app?” she asked.
“I’m on Tinder,” Cohen revealed, before adding this bit of intrigue:
“There is a gay dating app that I’m on [editors note: clearly he means Grindr] that I keep getting kicked off of because they think I’m impersonating ‘Andy Cohen’, and they’re like, ‘Your photos don’t meet our guidelines’ and I keep trying to [say] ‘No! It is me.’”
Related: Here’s what Adam Rippon’s Grindr profile looks like
But as Ellen points out next, the problem may have just gotten even bigger.
“But see, now by doing that,” she reasoned, “anyone watching is going to try [to use your photos] because now you’ve given them that idea.”
Or here’s another idea: Just don’t do that. It’s 100% creepy.
Related: This simple new tool lets you see exactly who’s blocked you on Grindr
Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time this issue has come up.
In 2016, RuPaul‘s Drag Race season 8 winner Bob the Drag Queen posted that his account kept getting banned, also:
I got banned from @Grindr for impersonating Bob The Drag Queen. #gag pic.twitter.com/xNAe3I9wjl
— Bob The Drag Queen (@thatonequeen) December 18, 2016
So what’s the deal, Grindr?
Is it time to implement verified accounts a la Twitter or Instagram so celebs can search for meaningful connection and everlasting love like everyone else?
Ummmm Yeah
“Or here’s another idea: Just don’t do that. It’s 100% creepy.” How is calling gay men creepy and telling them how to live their lives not a violation of your terms of your comment policy?
GayMafiaKingpin
The author is saying that stealing people’s photos and pretending to be that celebrity is creepy, not that being gay is. And they’re right.
Roan
“Or here’s another idea: Just don’t do that. It’s 100% creepy.”
Exactly. Stealing someone’s photos and using them as your own on social media and dating sites is 100% creepy.
Don’t do it.
Dashing Partycrasher
I just don’t get why anyone would use someone else’s photos, or for that matter photos that are so old that they look nothing like what someone looks like now. It shows dishonesty, a lack of self-esteem, and lack of respect for others’ time. I mean–how do they expect to be taken seriously when their date sees that they aren’t the person in the photos?! The number of fake, insecure, or self-absorbed people on dating sites/apps are just one reason I stopped using them years ago.
Nobody is perfect looking, but you always have a far better chance of being liked and even loved when you are happy showing and being your real self, and not pretending to be someone you aren’t.
chris33133
Cohen claims that Grindr’s doing this by mistake. How’s about a tantalizing counter-narrative: Grindr’s doing it on purpose in an effort to clean up its act. 😉
adamphilly40
HAHAHAHA
CarlIsle
I’m not surprised by this at all because in dealing with Grindr admin, they are morons. You don’t even have to deal with them to see how dumb they are. They approve profile pics that break the rules all the time but have rejected pics I’ve wanted to use which are within the rules.
batesmotel
Kind of sad that he’s trying to be on Grindr to begin with. That’s the bottom of the barrel so to speak. Surprising that he can’t seem to meet people in his business as it is.
Evji108
If he wants to meet hot guys that he doesn’t already know, that isn’t sad, it’s just enjoying himself like anyone else on Grindr. Meeting people in his business means just that, business, and mixing hookups with that is complicated.
James Hart
Every gay in NYC knows Andy Cohen. He’s a sleazy dude in deed.
Esscourt
He probably also has musty breath.