Sinakhone Keodara wants to sue Grindr (Photo: Sinakhone Keodara | Facebook)
A gay Asian man is attempting to launch a class action lawsuit against Grindr.
Sinakhone Keodara is the CEO of Asian Entertainment Television, Inc. He says he wants to sue the Chinese-owned company for ‘racial discrimination’. Keodora blasts the app for allowing users to post what he describes as humiliating and degrading comments about Asian men.
In a tweet announcing his intention, Keodara says he wants to find other Asian men in each of the US’s 50 states in order to launch a class action lawsuit. Anyone interested in joining the action must be a paid member of the app, not using the free service only.
‘This is complete bullshit’
He says: ‘I’m planning to bring a national, class-action lawsuit against gay hookup app Grindr for racial discrimination and I’m looking for co-plantiffs [sic] across all 50 states.
‘Please spread my call for co-plaintiffs to all your gay Asian men in your life that has been offended, humiliated, degraded and dehumanized by Grindr allowing gay white men to write in their profiles “No Asians,’ “Not interested in Asians,” or “I don’t find Asians attractive.”
‘This is complete bullshit and I’m suing Grindr for being a breeding ground that perpetuates racism against gay Asian mean [sic].
‘Now, in order to join my lawsuit, these gay Asian men Grinder [sic] users must be paying customers and they can’t join if they’re using the free app.’
Gay Asian men bringing a national class action lawsuit against @Grindr for race discriminations. @DanielMagOnline @TheGayUK @WEHOville @RealWeHoTimes @GayUKNews @MenMagazineGay @instinctmag @GaySYDAustralia @gaystarnews#GrindrClassActionLawsuit #Gaysians #Race #Discrimination pic.twitter.com/U8xfmskRGn
— Sinakhone Keodara (@frogseatmoon) July 9, 2018
GSN has contacted Keodara for further comment.
Tech entrepreneur Joel Simkhai launched Grindr in 2009. One of the first geosocial networking sites on the market, it benefited from the explosion in smartphone use and quickly became one of the most popular dating apps for gay and bisexual men. It says it has over 2million daily users.
In 2016, it sold a majority 61.5% shareholding to China’s Beijing Kunlun Tech for $93million. This was followed last year by the gaming company buying the remaining 38.5% for $152million – given it overall ownership.
GSN has contacted Grindr for comment on the proposed lawsuit.
See also
WATCH: Knocked back on Grindr, this gay guy explains the importance of challenging casual racism
