David Brown

The billboards have a blunt message for those women.

The bold text on one reads, You know full well a vow of celibacy is not the answer.

Another says, Thou shalt not give up on dating and become a nun.

Within hours, the internet fires back.

On TikTok, one marketing expert is stunned.

The backlash spreads quickly as celebrities pile on.

Khloe Kardashian, Julia Fox, Tiffany Haddish, Kate Hudson, Lenny Kravitz.

They all publicly endorse the very thing Bumble had just mocked, celibacy.

On Instagram, celibacy forward creator Lainey Molnar goes even further.

because what your shareholders want to buy a third yacht so you need man to get laid so the premium fees that they pay you are worth it soon those billboards start coming down but molnar's point lands because it taps into a deeper tension inside bumble's business bumble's user base actually skews mail

In 2024, 61% of users say they are men.

And these days, the company offers several paid tiers with men being more likely than women to pay for those tiers.

Which means that with opening moves and the cringy billboards, some women are starting to publicly ask a very pointed question.

Is Bumble for us or for the guys?

Weeks later, Jones and Wolf Hurd appear together at a Wall Street Journal event.

A moderator asks Jones about those billboards.

jones keeps talking but her answer starts to wander it grows longer and less certain she glances toward wolf herd and finally the founder steps in we made a mistake we will learn from it and we will overcome

In one sentence, she does what CEOs are supposed to do.

She stops the bleeding.

But the damage has already been done.