Whitney Wolfe Herd ‘sickened’ by a report describing a sexist, sordid culture at Bumble’s parent company Badoo

REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd has responded to an explosive Forbes report detailing a sexist, sordid culture at the dating app’s parent company Badoo.
"I am saddened and sickened to hear that anyone, of any gender, would ever be made to feel marginalized or mistreated in any capacity at their workplace," said Wolfe Herd.
She emphasised that many of the anecdotes described in the Forbes piece were from before Bumble’s creation in 2014.
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Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd has responded to a Forbes report on Bumble’s parent company Badoo, which detailed lurid stories from the startup’s earlier years.

Forbes’ report centered on Badoo and its CEO Andrey Andreev, a Russian billionaire who holds a majority stake in Bumble and was closely involved in its creation.

Having spoken to 13 former employees, Forbes reported on drug-fueled parties, software updates named after porn stars, and inappropriate remarks made about women, including by Andreev himself.

Andreev denied the personal allegations, but on Tuesday, told Business Insider that the company has launched an independent investigation into the issues raised in the Forbes story.

In a statement sent to TechCrunch, Wolfe Herd said she and everyone at Bumble was "mortified" to learn of the allegations against Badoo.

"I am saddened and sickened to hear that anyone, of any gender, would ever be made to feel marginalized or mistreated in any capacity at their workplace," she said.

Wolfe Herd added that her personal experience of Badoo has been "nothing but positive and respectful." She also said she gave the Forbes reporter her contact details to pass on those who felt uncomfortable with the culture.

"As a woman who has been through dark times, please know that I am deeply sorry for anything that could have taken place that made anyone feel uncomfortable before my time building Bumble," she explained.

Many of the lurid details in the Forbes report were from Badoo’s period of rapid growth from around 2010 to 2012, whereas Bumble was founded in 2014. Not all of the allegations were from that period, however, with some being as recent as last year.

"I feel personally responsible by association for the well-being of each and every team member in the group, regardless of what company or what office around the world, from the past or the present," she said.

Wolfe Herd founded Bumble after suing Tinder (where she was a cofounder) over sexual-harassment allegations. In the end, Wolfe Herd and Tinder settled for an undisclosed sum, although Forbes reported it was just over $1 million.

"We at Bumble remain fiercely committed to our mission, while being openly apologetic to anyone who feels our mission is compromised," Wolfe Herd concluded.

"We assure you that we would never conduct business in a manner contradictory to our values and would never tolerate the type of toxic behavior described by Forbes."

Here is Whitney Wolfe Herd’s statement in full:

"All of us at Bumble are mortified by the allegations about Badoo (Bumble’s majority owner) from the years before Bumble was born, as chronicled in the Forbes story. I am saddened and sickened to hear that anyone, of any gender, would ever be made to feel marginalized or mistreated in any capacity at their workplace.

"From my time speaking with the reporter, I was only able to share my personal experiences, which have been nothing but positive and respectful, ranging from 2014, before Bumble existed, and during the 5 years since. To this day, we at Bumble have never seen or heard of any of this behavior from any team members, and if we had we would have never tolerated it. However, I would never challenge someone’s feelings or experiences.

"I offered to the reporter to extend my contact info to anyone who felt their experience was negative and said I would be an ally and open ear to them. That offer still stands. As a woman who has been through dark times, please know that I am deeply sorry for anything that could have taken place that made anyone feel uncomfortable before my time building Bumble. And know that I feel personally responsible by association for the well-being of each and every team member in the group, regardless of what company or what office around the world, from the past or the present.

"Badoo is currently conducting an investigation into the allegations, as well as compiling documentation to expose the factual inaccuracies that exist within the article. I’d like to take the opportunity to clarify that I was never copied on any email from these allegations, as Forbes suggested. I learned of the majority of these allegations at the same time as the public. We at Bumble remain fiercely committed to our mission, while being openly apologetic to anyone who feels our mission is compromised. We assure you that we would never conduct business in a manner contradictory to our values and would never tolerate the type of toxic behavior described by Forbes."

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Isobel Asher Hamilton)