Manhunt responds!!

[dhbearguy]

Apparently Manhunt's been hit in the purse.. I recieved several emails today from people who have asked to have their Manhunt accounts closed. They have received the following response from Manhunt.

Dear Member,

Thank you for contacting MANHUNT Customer Service.

Thank you for taking the time to express your concerns as we are always
happy to hear from our members.

Manhunt as a company has not and does not support any political
candidate in this or any previous election.

A statement from the founder and majority shareholder of MANHUNT
follows.

Sincerely,
Ryan
Manhunt Customer Service


STATEMENT FROM LARRY BASILE, FOUNDER AND MAJOR SHAREHOLDER OF MANHUNT

There has been a depiction this week of MANHUNT being Republican.

All my life, I have never voted to the right, and have always been
generous to 20th Century Democrats, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and
Defenders, HRC, and the NGLTF.

I was arrested at the Supreme Court and FDA in Act-Up actions, and was
the founder of the Grass Roots Gay Rights Fund, which over the years has
raised more than $800K.

I was the Treasurer of Out Week magazine, which was a powerful force in
its time.

I began giving Obama donations in March 2007, and I have sent several
checks that have yet to be reported. The hat and t-shirt I wear say
"Obama for President", as does the sign in front of my house. I refuse
to live in a country that is so marred by war and hate. To me, Barack
is by far the best candidate, probably better than we deserve.

It should be known that Jonathan Crutchley's donation to McCain left the
entire Board in disbelief.

I am disappointed that we have lost some customers, and I understand the
anger. It is too bad for the web site if we lose customers, but PLEASE
never refer to me as a Republican. I consider it an offense.

At the request of the Board, Jonathan has stepped down as Chairman.

Sincerely,
Larry Basile

http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=78946

Comments

[furrbear.livejournal.com]

It should be known that Jonathan Crutchley's donation to McCain left the
entire Board in disbelief...

...At the request of the Board, Jonathan has stepped down as Chairman.

Off With His Head!!! I'm surprise it's only "stepped down." This was the sort of "career limiting move" that usually results in ouster.

[dhbearguy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought... hmmm stepped down? He's still making gay money.

[growler-south.livejournal.com]

He's still a majority shareholder, they cant exactly fire him outright. Stepping down sounds like damage control until this all blows over.

[akil.livejournal.com]

Eh. I'm still not going back.

[nursetomsf.livejournal.com]

It's all just PR and saying what they think we want to hear to keep giving them money.

Sorry, too little too late - they had to know already.

I'll be giving my money to other sites, thanks.

[dhbearguy.livejournal.com]

yep. I agree totally. The asshat is still making gay money.

[noelbear.livejournal.com]

OMG - I didn't know Manhunt was owned by Larry Basile !! I know Larry from my Boston days, and everything he said is pretty much true. He has always been an activist and a pretty radical one at that. He's sort of Boston's Ggreg Taylor. There is no way he supports McCain, and if one of his Board members and fellow shareholders does - ummmm so what? They donated $2,300. It's not like millions of dollars are being syphoned from the gay community to the Republican party. And we are still suppose to be allowed to have our own opinions about the political candidates in this country. What if you were fired from your job because you supported Obama? Sounds to me like people jumped on a band wagon here without having all the facts.

[smiley-kiley.livejournal.com]

That's nice about Basile, but the facts are that Crutchley founded the website with Basile. He wasn't just "a board member," he was the Chairman. And regardless of that, he no doubt continues to make millions in profits from it. He can have his opinions and support whomever he wants, but I certainly wouldn't want to continue to line his pockets with cash so he can donate it to anti-gay causes.

[nursetomsf.livejournal.com]

Sounds more to me like the Manhunt board got scared and decided to do something to look like they were taking action. Funny enough, I emailed them Wednesday about the fact that they had removed my profile text because I had said why I was leaving - and all I got was a generic "your account has been deleted as requested. If this is in error, or you have questions, please contact us."

As I said in response to your post, I see this as no different than Coors ro Carl's Jr or WalMart - when the shareholders are taking the money they make off me and using it to support people I feel are opposed to who I am as a person, then I choose to not give them any more of my money. That's my two cents.