There was some serious drama on Grindr‘s Twitter page last night.
The dating app decided to let gay comedian Guy Branum take over its account during last night’s vice presidential debate, tweeting out GIFs, memes, and other snarky commentary during the 90 minute snooze fest, er, presentation.
The exercise started out innocently enough, with Branum making middle school jabs at both candidates, first by comparing Pence to “a cartoon turtle” and then by saying Tim Kaine is “1/4 bobblehead on his mother’s side.”
And then came this tweet:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
If Donald Trump gets to deport 16 million people, I want you to think how much hotness would be lost from your @Grindr screen. #VPDebate
— Grindr (@Grindr) October 5, 2016
But not everybody found the joke funny. Or even kinda funny.
@Grindr pic.twitter.com/ydJhpRDY3Z
— Jacob (@OhHeyJacob) October 5, 2016
.@Grindr aww you were doing so well until this one!
— Slade Sohmer (@Slade) October 5, 2016
@Grindr pic.twitter.com/HjTNTxUssh
— Dad Celo (@DadCelo) October 5, 2016
@Grindr You probably want to delete this
— Yes, You're Racist (@YesYoureRacist) October 5, 2016
@Grindr You're cut off. pic.twitter.com/7HziIrAtqI
— Brian Gluckman (@bgluckman) October 5, 2016
@Grindr … or we could think about the torn-apart families, people uprooted from their homes, etc. Not just about lost chances to be laid.
— Buy 1k Genders $69 (@CanadiEnby) October 5, 2016
@Grindr really? You tried and failed. pic.twitter.com/BODuzznnyt
— Cedric Gum (@OMCeddie) October 5, 2016
After it became clear the tweet had hit a nerve, Grindr immediately went into damage control. The very next tweet was a disclaimer from Branum that sounded an awful lot like it was written for him by the app’s PR team:
Fun reminder: right I (@guybranum) am tweeting for @grindr, these opinions are mine, not necessarily @Grindr's pic.twitter.com/9fUTlOzOs9
— Grindr (@Grindr) October 5, 2016
That was followed by another tweet a short while later:
I (@guybranum), am white, and I'm sorry for the extent to which my privilege made me feel it was ok to joke about deportation.
— Grindr (@Grindr) October 5, 2016
He could have left it at that. But instead, Brenum decided to dig himself into an even deeper hole by arguing with people.
@eatsleepFEELS @guybranum They asked me to!
— Grindr (@Grindr) October 5, 2016
@rolandodiaz16 @Grindr I got a perfect score on my LSATs.
— Guy Branum (@guybranum) October 5, 2016
That was me, @guybranum, tweeting the #VPDebate. I got distracted about half way through by people yelling at me for the deportation tweet.
— Grindr (@Grindr) October 5, 2016
Then he took to his own Twitter account to double down on his original statement that massive deportation would be an absolute tragedy for horny gay men:
For the record: Gays who want to fuck being torn apart by racist immigration policies is just as sad as families being torn apart by them.
— Guy Branum (@guybranum) October 5, 2016
So what’s the takeaway from all this… aside from yet another reason why hookup apps and late night comedian’s might want to refrain from trying to make serious political commentary?
Mathew Rodriguez at Mic.com says that, in addition to ignoring the fact that many of the LGBTQ people who would be deported under a Trump/Pence administration would be sent back to countries that are hostile towards gay people, it highlights the ongoing issue of white privilege within the gay community:
Because white gay men are still afforded a disproportionate amount of power and representation in the gay community, a conversation about immigration became a conversation about white access to black and brown bodies. The funny thing is, this still centers the idea that white people should have access to any body they want.
What do you think? Were the tweets by Branum sent from Grindr’s Twitter account offensive? Or are people taking what was mean to be a flippant remark too seriously? Share your thoughts in the comments section…
DDstar1me
Sooo..free speech is dead? Jezz..it’s a f**ng joke. Get over yourselves. It’s getting so people can’t even be human beings on social media anymore. Just set tweets to auto pilot from now on cause folks are way too sensitive.
You know what I’m sensitive about? Being stopped by the cops because of the color of my skin and then getting shot for it. That’s what gets me upset.
BriBri
Gays aren’t called pansy’s for no reason. Can’t take a joke.
Mandrake
I think the joke is hilarious! There are too many snow flakes who are hypersensitive, devoid of humor, and who need to lighten up. I’d hate to have to drink with them in the bar
Imperialist
I remember when gay men had thick skins and a sense of humor. Not any more.
Brian-E
If people actually under threat from deportation find this joke funny, then it’s okay. But I don’t think that’s the case.
There are areas where you just don’t go when making jokes. People with a good sense of humour know that.
Hermes
It’s an odd take, but nothing to get upset about – many hispanic men are extremely handsome – but I think more about justice, if the comedian thinks immediately about the handsome men who would be lost – *shrug* – that’s why he’s a comedian and I’m a professional with an interest in politics and a concern about and fear of the Right.
Wayne_in_NYC
I agree with all four previous comments. I saw nothing wrong with the joke at all. Some of my best friends are undocumented and I would miss them dearly! I particularly agree with DDstar1me… The pervasive abuse of people of all colors by the police nationwide has to be stopped!! They want our respect, but do nothing to deserve it!
MikeBeagen
SMH. Cmon people. Free speech means anyone can offend anyone.
bluberybandit
Unfortunately, this is one of many downfalls associated with social media. I understand the perspective shared by those who interpreted the joke in an offensive manner. At the same time, I’m being accused of getting whatever I want because I’m a gay white male? So, as long as we are ALL being discriminated in one way or another at the same time, it’s okay.
As a middle-aged gay white man, do you think I just frolic around in my pale white skin without judgement? That kind of mindset tells me that you are so consumed with yourself and your identity that you can’t share a different perspective without feeling offended. It’s called low self-esteem. Once you work through that process (as most everyone has in his or her lifetime), you will see that life exists past your self-perception and that you were the one holding yourself back the whole time.
It goes far beyond a simple yet negative perception of a tweet….
Tracy Pope
@Imperialist: You must be as old as I!
@bluberybandit: This needed to be said and you stated it succinctly without any ugliness. Something so many others seem unable to do.
Xzamilloh
It’s Grindr, not the Associated Press or Reuters. Of course they’re gonna center their tweets around being laid. It’s what they do. I’m surprised Twitter hasn’t been plagued with outrage fatigue
http://xzamillohsnothere.blogspot.com/2016/06/why-social-media-should-never-be-taken.html
Kangol
@bluberybandit: I think the reaction was a bit over the top. But here’s a thought: what if you or your family members faced the threat of deportation, and someone was making light of it? You see, when you have social and political capital to protect you, things like this can be laughed off. But what about the many vulnerable people out there, the children in particular? I say this not to criticize you, but to suggest that empathy is a good thing, and it doesn’t just go one way, which is to say, all people in subordinate positions in this society are forced to empathize with those who have power, but what about the other way around?
ddevine
What’d I miss? It’s true. TENS of thousands of Latinos left (on their own accord)from L.A. during the height of the recession and now my Grindr screen in BLINDING white with all kinds of transparent prejudice preferences. The beauty and diversity is gone. At least here in cruelly gentrified Silverlake. And Echo Park. And Downtown. And now Highland Park. And…
Chris
This tweet was of the same cloth as skits about what would happen to all facets of our economy if Trump got his way. And unlike those skits, it has the dark humor that makes a Latino like me spit put my coffee laughing.
scotshot
I found the joke to be flat and unfunny, plus it’s rather insensitive.
Do we joke about the slaughter at Pulse? 911? The murders of LGBTQ that are under reported. I don’t know if it rises to that level.
Hindsight is 20/20: what happens if people are murdered, die from stress of the experience, poor medical care in Mexico, what if there’s a natural disaster they get caught in?
Will Donald Trump accept responsibility. Will he make a joke about it? definitely.
zipperzone
Well it seems pretty obvious from all of the above posts that the PC nellies overreacted once again.
I found the joke funny – perhaps leaning a bit towards the dark side, but that’s what makes it funny IMO.
There will always be people who look for the negative in everything. That’s their choice but they probably have a boring uneventful existence.
psionicomniverse
@DDstar1me: Please, white people routinely say the most offensive things and use the label of “joke” to try to face no repercussion for it or give out a fake apology later. When they are “joking” they are telling you how they really feel.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Imagine if he’d modestly proposed the deportees leave their babies here so we could eat ’em. These cynical, virtue-signalling narcissistic phonies would’ve crucified Rev. Dr. Swift.
What unbelievably shitty times we live in. Fucked. This is Salem. The Left is fucked. Fuck.
Chris2016
A Gay hookup app made a joke about a laughable deportation plot that has zero chance of ever been implemented, even if Trump does get elected. Oh the horror. Don’t ever try to lighten the mood. Ever.
“A writer for mic”
Oh, well at least the most highprofile of complaints aren’t coming from a productive member of society.
girldownunder
It’s both:
a lame joke about losing access to some shags, & also,
another example of white privilege, which never seems to be able to see it (& yet whines about being called out for it), making jokes at other’s expense– when the “joke” could be the death penalty for those affected.
Made me sad that human misery is fodder for “fun”.
QJ201
Wait what? Grindr has twitter? People actually follow?
ErikO
@Imperialist: indeed.
bluberybandit
@Kangol: Yes, I totally agree with your statement Kangol. And yes, as a society of different cultures and ethnicity, it’s extremely important for one to sympathize (if not empathize as well), with the needs of others without getting caught in this vortex of negativity or suggestive implications.
I can’t speak for any other ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, etc. I can only speak for myself. That at being said, I truly understand the fear and plight that these families face. And no, sadly I cannot begin to understand what many families are being faced with. I’m very fortunate that I don’t have to face those problems. BUT, like everyone else in the world, I have my own problems to deal with. We all do. I’m just lucky that being white isn’t another problem I have to deal with. Thank you for your reply Kangol.
Granny Spoth
Laughing is cathartic to many people. Laughing at tragedies is good.
The witch hunts have to stop.
SFHandyman
It was an insensitive joke, and we needed to point out that deportation would wreck families, lives, and put some people in mortal peril. BUT Guy is wonderful. If he’d had the chance to try the joke out in a club and realised why it is a bomb he would have dropped it immediately, or reworked it to make it less insensitive.
Every time I’ve heard Guy he has been hilarious. Isn’t he the guy who says “I wish I sounded fat and looked gay.”?
Heywood Jablowme
Get a grip. Every single one of these 16 (?) million people is always subject to deportation ALREADY. The Obama administration isn’t keen to do that on a big scale because it wouldn’t make sense. But individuals get deported all the time! Calling them “hot” doesn’t change anything.
(Anyway I thought it was 11 million? – why this 16 million figure all of a sudden?)
@scotshot: It’s not always Mexico as you imply; they’re from many countries. But isn’t it racially insensitive to say that Mexico as a whole is such a hellhole that no one could ever possibly live there? That’s exactly what you’re saying.
DuMaurier
@SFHandyman:
The thing is, in “a club” it probably wouldn’t have bombed (or gotten the biggest laugh, either) Bill Maher probably could’ve gotten a small laugh with it. “Family Guy” could’ve used it (maybe in a cutaway) and nobody would’ve noticed. So much of Internet “outrage” is based on context and “where” the joke shows up. The guy was obviously being flip and sarcastic from the point of view of what Grindr IS. Does anyone really think he was saying the only sad thing about mass deportation would be lost hookups? I’m not radically anti-PC–sometimes it represents common decency–but I see zero “wrong” with this mild snark.