Tinder executive suspended following sexual harassment allegations

 
Hooked: Justin Mateen, left, has been suspended over texts to Whitney Wolfe, right. Also pictured are Tinder CEO Sean Rad and Glamour publisher Connie Anne Phillips
David Gardner1 July 2014

A Tinder executive has been suspended after a former member of staff alleges she was branded a “whore” and forced out of the company.

Whitney Wolfe, Tinder’s former vice president of marketing, claims she was stripped of her co-founder title because she was 24 and a “young female”.

Ms Wolfe was sent harassing texts by Tinder’s chief marketing officer Justin Mateen after they had a brief romance in 2012, according to her lawsuit filed in Los Angeles superior court.

She claims the final straw came when Mr Mateen called her a “whore” at a company party in front of chief executive officer Sean Rad.

He was suspended pending an internal investigation by the company last night.

In the lawsuit, Ms Wolfe says she came up with the name Tinder in mid-2012, shortly after its creation, amid worries that its original name, Matchbox, was too similar to Match.com.

The hook-up service reveals other anonymous users close-by who choose whether to continue the relationship by swiping right to like or left to pass.

In an interview with Elle magazine last year, Ms Wolfe defended the app, saying it empowered single women.

While she would never approach a man in a bar or friend “a random cute guy” on Facebook, she said that with Tinder it was “like following or friending each other at the same time”.

But in the legal papers she lists alleged incidents of harassment over 18 months starting in late 2012. As her romance with Mr Mateen broke down, the suit says, he called her “a desperate loser” in a marketing meeting and told Mr Rad and others she was an alcoholic.

Ms Wolfe complained to Mr Rad, who would ignore her “or call her a dramatic or emotional girl”, the suit says, adding that in one meeting, the CEO told her it was her job to “keep Justin calm”.

According to the TMZ website, the suit also claims that after Mr Mateen learned that she was speaking to Middle Eastern men, he texted her saying: “You prefer to social climb middle-aged Muslim pigs that stand for nothing.”

Ms Wolfe is asking for compensatory damages, including lost pay, punitive damages and restitution. “I had hoped this would be resolved confidentially, but after months of failed attempts, I have decided to pursue this suit,” she said in a statement.

A spokesman for Tinder majority stakeholder IAC/InterActiveCorp called messages he sent Ms Wolfe “inappropriate”.

He added: “We unequivocally condemn these messages, but believe that Ms Wolfe’s allegations with respect to Tinder and its management are unfounded.” Equality activists claim a “brogrammer” culture in some Silicon Valley companies contributes to the low number of female technology executives.

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel apologized last month for sending emails containing statements that were demeaning to women while a student at Stanford University.

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