Bumble to remove ads mocking celibacy: 'We made a mistake'

Bumble ads perceived as mocking celibacy received significant criticism – and now the company is pulling the plug on them. 

The dating app said late Monday that it would get rid of controversial ads it had included in a global marketing campaign for Bumble’s recent revamp, saying it had "made a mistake."

Social media users have been slamming Bumble billboard ads that said "a vow of celibacy is not the answer."

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"For years, Bumble has passionately stood up for women and marginalized communities, and their right to fully exercise personal choice," the company said in a statement posted to Instagram. "We didn’t live up to these values with this campaign and we apologize for the harm it caused."

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Bumble said the ads "were an attempt to lean into a community frustrated by modern dating and instead of bringing joy and humor, we unintentionally did the opposite."

The company also outlined other actions it will take, including sending funds to the National Domestic Violence Hotline and other organizations "as part of our ongoing efforts to support the work being done around the world to support women, marginalized communities, and those impacted by abuse" and letting them use the billboard space instead.

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The decision to remove the ads came roughly two weeks after Bumble rolled out new features for its millions of users.

One of the most notable new features that the dating app introduced was "Opening Moves," a feature that women can use to allow men to answer a question to get the conversation started rather than having to send their matches an initial message.

Bumble also expanded the "Dating Intentions" badge options available to users, made common interests appear higher on profiles and updated its algorithm, according to a press release.

CEO Lidiane Jones said during the company's earnings call last week that Bumble’s aim with the features and accompanying new brand identity was to "support three goals: improve the core experience of our customers, enhance trust and safety and increase our options for monetization."