Grindr head Scott Chen says marriage is between a man and a woman

Facebook picture of Grindr president Scott Chen (scott chen/facebook)

Grindr president Scott Chen has said he believes that marriage is between a man and a woman.

The head of the gay dating app, who is married to a woman, wrote on Facebook: “There are people who believe that marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman. I agree, but that’s none of our business.”

In the post—which was reported by Grindr-owned publication INTO—Chen continued: “There are also people who believe that the purpose of marriage is to create children that carry their DNA. That’s also none of our business.

Scott Chen's Facebook post about same-sex marriage and the Taiwan referendum

Grindr’s Scott Chen wrote the comments about gay marriage on Facebook (scott chen/facebook)

“There are people who are simply different from you, who desperately want to get married. They have their own reasons. Getting married is a personal issue.”

He added that he wished people wouldn’t donate to anti-LGBTQ causes and instead “donate your money to places which are in dire hunger, poverty, or suffering from war,” asking: “Why spend all that money to stop people who love each other from getting married? Aren’t there more important things in life?”

He concluded: “I’ll never buy HTC products ever again, and I’ll never donate a cent to any Christian groups in Taiwan!”

“I am a straight man married to a woman I love.”

— Scott Chen

Days before writing the status, Chen posted an INTO article on Facebook alleging that the founder of electronics company HTC had a non-profit which was supporting anti-gay groups in the fight against same-sex marriage in Taiwan.

A Facebook profile picture of Grindr president Scott Chen

Scott Chen became Grindr’s president in August after a Chinese company’s takeover (scott chen/facebook)

Chen joined Grindr after it was bought out by Chinese company Beijing Kunlun Tech last year, and became president of the company in August.

Grindr’s Scott Chen responds to criticism over marriage views

Writing in the comments section of INTO’s article, Chen denied he was against same-sex marriage.

“The reason I said marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman is based on my own personal experience,” said Chen.

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“I am a straight man married to a woman I love and I have two beautiful daughters I love from the marriage. This is how I feel about my marriage.

Grindr president Scott Chen responding to the INTO article in the comments section

Grindr’s Scott Chen called the article “unbalanced and misleading” (scott chen/facebook)

“Different people have their different feelings about their marriages. You can’t deny my feelings about my marriage.”

The Grindr president continued: “I took down this post because there were some heated discussions and my aunt was involved there. She was a really nice Taiwanese lady in her 60s and she is a very convinced Christian like my dad.

“I love my aunt. I no longer want her to see the discussion this post so I changed the settings to Friend of Friends and excluded her.”

A picture of the gay dating app Grindr on a mobile phone

Grindr has been dogged by privacy fears since the takeover last year (Leon Neal/Getty)

Chen added that he had been “a huge advocate for LGBTQ+ rights since I was young. I support gay marriage and I am proud that I can work for Grindr.”

He also hit out at INTO’s reporting on its parent company, branding the article “unbalanced and misleading” and saying that “it hurts my feelings and it also hurts INTO’s and Grindr’s reputation.”

INTO’s editor-in-chief, Zach Stafford, told The Guardian: “We stand by the reporting… We are very interested in telling the stories that impact queer people most.”

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