Man Uses Bumble App To Fat-Shame Woman, BeeHive Responds
Bumble has gotten word of Michael Blanchard’s harsh comments to a user of their app named Samantha Drain and responded with an open letter.
Earlier this week, The Sun shared a report regarding Blanchard’s use of the popular app, revealing that the man had berated Samantha Drain in a number of messages sent through the app, claiming she’s only about a “five or six,” while he was a 10 out of 10.
As the outlet explained, Samantha Drain was fresh off a breakup at the time the messages were sent and feeling particularly vulnerable about her looks. So, when Blanchard reportedly sent her several messages, some of which advised her to hit the gym, she was understandably devastated.
Blanchard went on to tell the woman that while he may be open to hooking up with her in the future, she wasn’t nearly at his standards quite yet. However, once news of what he had done hit the web, Blanchard blamed his messages on his drunk friends, claiming that his app had been hacked during a wild night out in London.
In a statement to The Tab, Michael Blanchard said that he had offered an apology to Samantha Drain and said that he did not condone what his friends had done. He even said that he found their comments to Samantha Drain to be “appalling.”
While the origin of the shocking messages remains unclear, Bumble has put their foot down against such behavior in an open letter to Michael Blanchard and other users, and potential users, of the app.
We won’t end misogyny in dating and the workplace until we start holding each other to higher standards. The more that people stand up and speak out against misogyny, the faster we can create the kind of world where we won’t have to. pic.twitter.com/RXvVwWk676
— Bumble (@bumble_app) December 1, 2017
“Who taught you how to talk like that? Do you think that the ‘security’ of hiding behind a screen gives you permission to degrade people you don’t know?” Bumble asked in their statement.
The company went on to reveal to Michael Blanchard that they hold people accountable for their actions and noted that harassment and misogyny don’t belong on their app.
Bumble also encouraged the man to ditch his friends if they were the ones behind his shocking messages to the innocent Samantha Drain.
Although Michael Blanchard has denied that it was he who sent the messages to Samantha Drain, his mother has responded to the messages sent to Samantha Drain, claiming she would be highly disappointed if he had truly been that disrespectful to a woman.
