OKCupid founder: I regret accidentally supporting a politician with anti-gay views
The founder of dating website OKCupid has broken his silence, speaking out to say he regrets supporting a Republican politician he did not know opposed same-sex marriage.
The statement from Sam Yagan, the current CEO of Match.com, comes a week after the co-founder of Mozilla blasted OKCupid for urging its members to boycott Firebox days after his appointment last month.
Yesterday, it was revealed that Yagan had donated $500 (£300) to Republican RepresentativeChris Cannon’s 2004 campaign, during which he aimed to limit the rights of gay people.
In a statement to the Huffington Post today, Yagan said he did not contribute based on the anti-gay stance, and that he was not aware of it.
He said: “A decade ago, I made a contribution to Representative Chris Cannon because he was the ranking Republican on the House subcommittee that oversaw the Internet and Intellectual Property, matters important to my business and our industry. I accept responsibility for not knowing where he stood on gay rights in particular; I unequivocally support marriage equality and I would not make that contribution again today. However, a contribution made to a candidate with views on hundreds of issues has no equivalence to a contribution supporting Prop 8, a single issue that has no purpose other than to affirmatively prohibit gay marriage, which I believe is a basic civil right.”
It was revealed in 2012 that Mr Eich donated $1,000 (£605) in 2008 to the campaign supporting California’s Proposition 8, whilst he was Mozilla’s chief technology officer.
The Prop 8 law banned same-sex marriages in the state and was finally struck down by the US Supreme Court after years of legal battles in June 2013.
