Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder of dating app Bumble, has swiped left (emotionally) on a new movie based on her life and starring Lily James.
The Disney+ flick Swiped, directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, landed earlier this month, and it dramatises Herd’s trailblazing status as the co-founder of Tinder and founder of Bumble, the latter of which saw her become the world’s youngest female billionaire back in 2021.
While you might think Herd is fretting about having created an app responsible for literally countless terrible dates (it’s rough out here), the businesswoman is actually in a tizzy over not being able to contribute to (or block) the new movie.
“I’m not involved in it,” Herd said when reacting to Swiped in an interview with CNBC.
“Frankly, I was informed about this movie after it was already off to the races. I think they had already written the script and done all these things,” she added.
Herd was so frazzled that she took it up with her lawyers, who told her there was little she could do to stop Swiped from being made, despite her attempts to “shut it down” because she did “not want a movie about me”.
“There’s nothing you can do,” Herd’s lawyers informed her, “You’re somewhat of a public figure, there’s public information out there, they’re going to do what they’re going to do.”
As for whether Herd tuned in… well, she couldn’t even watch the teasers.
“I can’t make it through the whole trailer, it’s too weird for me,” Herd said. “I’m obviously both terrified and maybe slightly flattered.”
The only saving grace for Herd is the choice of lead actress, because who wouldn’t be thrilled to be played by Cinderella herself?
“I think the strangeness and the fear of it outweighs any flattery … I guess I gotta get some popcorn and stay tuned,” Herd said. “But I am honoured that they chose Lily James, she’s a very talented actress,” she added.
For her part, James — who’s already had a crack at playing real-life people courtesy of 2022’s Pam & Tommy — said she was “bowled over” by Herd’s story.
The actress told Deadline she was “obviously” aware of dating apps (hear that boys? There’s a chance for you yet!), but “had no idea there was this woman right at the kind of epicentre of them”.
“I’ve found her to be truly inspiring and a trailblazer,” James said.
Swiped isn’t the only project about an IRL app to arrive on screens in recent times, with The Social Network chronicling the birth of Facebook and Super Pumped dramatising the BTS legal battles of Uber.
At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if next year there’s a Clock app movie starring, I dunno, Tom Hanks?
Lead images: Getty Images and Disney
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