Gay dating app president calls marriage 'holy matrimony between a man and a woman,' gets backlash

Scott Chen, the president of LGBT dating app Grindr, is under fire for comments he made about same-sex marriage.

In a since-deleted Facebook post, Chen expressed his belief that marriage is a "holy matrimony between a man and a woman," for which he drew heavy criticism.

What are the details?

Ironically, the original post, according to Into, revealed that he would boycott Chinese tech company HTC after hearing reports that the company had backed U.S. activist groups opposed to same-sex marriage.

In the post on his personal Facebook account, Chen wrote, "Some people think marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman. And I think so too. But that's your own business."

Into — which is actually a digital publication owned by Grindr — published Chen's remarks on Thursday.

Into's Zach Stafford shared an article about Chen's remarks on Twitter, and wrote, "Today we at INTO have learned that the current president of Grindr believes that same-sex marriage is a 'holy matrimony' between men and women."

Today we at INTO have learned that the current president of Grindr believes that same-sex marriage is a “holy matrimony” between men and women. https://t.co/reidzxovYH

— Zach Stafford (@ZachStafford) November 29, 2018

Chen responded to the magazine's remarks, saying that he had not been contacted for comment prior to publication and that Into's account of the information was "unbalanced and misleading."

He also noted that "different people have their different feelings about their marriages" and said that while he was married to a woman — and held his own personal beliefs about marriage — he could still be an LGBT advocate and campaign for equal rights.

"I am a huge advocate for LGBTQ+ rights since I was young," he wrote in the article's comment section. "I support gay marriage and I am proud that I can work for Grindr."

He added, "The reason I said marriage is a holy matrimony between a man and a woman is based on my own personal experience. I am a straight man married to a woman I love and I have two beautiful daughters I love from the marriage."

Anything else?

Chen later issued a more expansive comment to Into about his remarks.

"On November 26, I wrote a post on my personal Facebook account meant to condemn those advocating against same-sex marriage in Taiwan," Chen wrote. "The words I chose related to marriage between a man and a woman were meant to express my personal feelings about my own marriage to my wife — not to suggest that I am opposed to marriage equality."

"I want to make clear that I am an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and have been since I was young," he added. "I support gay marriage and I am proud that I can work for Grindr. I apologize that my words did not clearly convey these feelings."

Chen added that he is "very proud" of the publication's work and supports the business.

"One of our greatest strengths at Grindr is our diverse team and our respect for one another," he concluded. "Together, we will continue the important work we do fighting for LGBTQ+ equality."

Chen has been president of the company since August.