The Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been hailed as the “most inclusive ever,” boasting the highest-ever number of openly LGBTQ athletes competing—more than 160.
But despite the win for queer representation, a lighthearted but grossly insensitive trend has threatened to out closeted Olympians, some of whom may come from countries where homosexuality remains taboo or criminalized.
Videos by VICE
TikTok and Twitter users have reportedly been using Grindr’s “explore” feature to ogle at Olympic athletes.
By pinning their Grindr location to the Olympic Village in Tokyo, people were able to view athletes who were also on the app. Some athletes’ faces and information on Grindr were revealed in screen recordings and screenshots posted on social media, Business Insider reported. They include those who came from countries with poor records on LGBTQ rights.
The videos were then taken down by TikTok and Twitter.
A Twitter spokesperson confirmed to VICE World News that the videos violated company rules against hateful conduct and will need to be removed before the account owners can continue to use the platform.
The social media company’s hateful conduct policy prohibits threats or attacks against people on the basis of categories including ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability. Abuse directed at individuals in “protected categories”—such as those of ethnic, religious, or sexual minorities—is also prohibited.
Grindr said the videos are in breach of the company’s terms of service.
“Out of respect for our users’ privacy, and out of respect for the contractual commitments these individuals made, Grindr demands that these individuals remove their social media posts that include images from the Grindr platform,” it said in a statement to VICE World News.
TikTok did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The controversy was similar to one from the Rio games in 2016, when a Daily Beast article with anecdotes of using Grindr to interact with Olympians was removed after sparking outrage. The story reportedly contained identifying details of possibly closeted athletes.
Besides fears that the videos would out closeted athletes in the Olympic Village, there were also concerns about violating the privacy of Japanese Grindr users in the area. In Japan, where same-sex marriage has not been legally recognized, there still exists strong social stigma.
While sex is known to be rampant in the Olympic Village, Japan is discouraging sex among athletes out of COVID-19 concerns. Instead, athletes will receive condoms when they leave the Games.
Several countries represented at the Olympics have laws that punish same-sex sexual activity with jail time. In a handful of more conservative nations, gay sex may be punishable by death.
As of writing, there are still Twitter users sharing their experience exploring the Olympic Village via Grindr—most of them thirst tweets for “hot athletes.” However, these tweets did not identify the athletes seen on Grindr.
Update: This story has been updated to reflect a statement from Grindr.
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