Tinder’s reputation might have gone up in flames after an unflattering Vanity Fair profile lead to the matchmaking app going into meltdown this week, but Newsnight’s Evan Davis has only made it worse.
Davis ended up causing his own controversy when his comments that the app let straight people 'behave like gay men' lead to many people criticising him for encouraging the stereotype that gay men were naturally promiscuous.
Comedian Matt Lucas called the whole thing ‘pathetic’, while a number of people tweeted Davis to tell him they thought his description was needlessly loaded given that Tinder is used by people of all sexualities.
Wow - Did Evan Davis claim that @Tinder was an app that 'allows straight people to behave like gay men'? pic.twitter.com/epPwkbh7Ag #newsnight
; Jonathan Badyal (@JonathanBadyal) August 13, 2015
"For the uninitiated, Tinder is the biggest of a number of apps that allow straight people of any gender to behave like gay men," he said.
Pathetic from the BBC. https://t.co/0eOMcRdRu6
— Matt Lucas (@RealMattLucas) August 12, 2015
Some people assumed the whole thing must be a spoof. But many people simply felt that Davis might have been less likely to rely on lazy stereotypes given that he is openly gay himself, and has often spoken out about LGBT equality.
@RealMattLucas @NotBBCSportsGuy fake! ... Isn't it?!
— PerformingMonkeyBoy (@tristyjones) August 12, 2015
Offensive #newsnight 'Tinder lets straight people act like gay men'... My sexuality is not a benchmark to gauge percieved 'promiscuity' ty
— Jack Zivvi (@JZivvi) August 12, 2015
This isn't the first time Davis has offended the gay community by painting his opinions in broad strokes. Earlier this year he suggested 'gays take more drugs because they don't have kids' and implied the gay community lack discipline.
