Before Chris Cantwell became known as the white supremacist leader who broke down on camera after learning a warrant may have been issued for his arrest following the Charlottesville violence, he was — like so many of us — an online dater.
Following the Vice documentary that revealed the astonishing depths of wrath and hatred felt by neo-Nazis at the Unite the Right rally, individuals and corporations were quick to take action, but Cantwell doubled down. After he realized that the law (not to mention civil society) may soon force him to answer for his vicious beliefs and actions, including the moment he readies “a cache of weapons” after Heather Heyer’s death by terrorism, he took to the camera. In the now-viral video he shot, Cantwell faced the camera teary-eyed and fearful about the warrant out for his arrest, eager to confide in … whoever he thought liked to watch his homemade videos.
But the threat of prosecution and jail time isn’t the only thing Cantwell needs to worry about — it turns out his dating life may be at risk, too. It reportedly took a mere 10 minutes for OkCupid employees to ban Cantwell from the site after they realized that he was the same neo-Nazi featured so prominently in Vice’s film. CEO Elie Seidma responded to a Gizmodo inquiry about their lack of hesitation, stating, “OkCupid has zero tolerance for racism. We make a lot of [decisions] every day that are tough. Banning Christopher Cantwell was not one of them.”
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A company spokesperson added:
“OkCupid will absolutely ban other users who are involved in hate groups. Cantwell violated our terms of service… Not only that, we have asked our users at OkCupid to notify us immediately if they see any individuals who are associated with hate groups.”
In Gizmodo’s piece, the outlet also refers an alleged but now apparently offline blog post by Cantwell entitled “Online Dating Tips, for the Ladies” in which the white supremacist apparently admits that he’s been a member of OkCupid since 2014. Cantwell’s tips, if indeed his, are every bit as charming and respectful as one would imagine — somehow, “If all I can see is your face – you’re a fat girl” isn’t even the worst of the bunch.
While it’s entirely possible that the post has been taken down for a number of reasons, or may not even be Cantwell’s at all, a snapshot of the page from an Internet archive from Aug. 15 of this year certainly paints a picture in keeping with the one we’ve seen from this man so far.
Considering the type of week that Cantwell has endured, it’s likely that romance is the least of his worries right now, but it’s heartening to know there’s no room for the likes of this guy on internet dating sites. Finding love is hard enough as it is.
