Grindr outage during Charlie Kirk memorial sparks satirical frenzy
– 1 min read
In a bizarre twist of digital fate, the gay dating app Grindr reportedly experienced a significant outage in Phoenix, Arizona - just as tens of thousands gathered nearby for the memorial service of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. The coincidence has ignited a wave of online satire, with many questioning whether the influx of Republican mourners had anything to do with the app’s sudden technical hiccup.
Held at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, the memorial drew nearly 90,000 attendees, including high-profile figures such as President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow and newly appointed CEO of Turning Point USA, delivered an emotional speech, vowing to continue her late husband’s legacy.
Meanwhile, just nine miles away in Phoenix, users of Grindr began reporting issues accessing the app. According to Downdetector, a crowdsourced outage tracker, reports spiked dramatically around 7pm, with over 160 complaints - far above the usual baseline of two. Similar spikes were noted in other cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, but the timing and location of the Phoenix outage raised eyebrows.
Social media platforms, particularly X and TikTok, erupted with speculation and humour. Users joked that the conservative crowd had overwhelmed Grindr’s servers, with one viral post quipping, “It’s the GOP convention all over again.” Another user sarcastically suggested Grindr should start boosting server capacity during Republican events.
This isn’t the first time such a phenomenon has been observed. During the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Grindr reported a 66% surge in local usage, with a notable demographic skew toward white male users. A similar slowdown occurred during the 2024 RNC in Milwaukee.
