The state of Virginia has ditched Eventbrite after it shut down registration for an event by athlete Riley Gaines.
The move by Virginia comes as other organizations are also severing their ties to the event registration company.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin criticized the company after it removed promotions for a speech by Gaines, a vocal critic of biological males participating in women’s sports. The promotion for Gaines’ event, which was to be a rally for the protection of women’s sports, was taken down because Eventbrite said it violated community guidelines. The company is still promoting pro-Hamas events.
I love all the people in my comments saying they’ve deleted their Eventbrite account. Give ’em the Bud Light treatment
🚨Newsflash: being a woman and advocating for such isn’t a hate crime.🚨 pic.twitter.com/EQmh2JbcF1
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 26, 2023
“When a company decides it’s going make statements on political and social issues, they have to live with the consequences, and the blowback here has been warranted,” Youngkin said, according to “The Daily Wire.”
Criticism from Youngkin also focused on allowing pro-Hamas events on the platform.
“First of all, Eventbrite continues to carry events around Hamas, which is unbelievable, but then, on top of that, to proactively terminate an agreement with Riley is beyond belief,” he said. “And to say that they are trying to protect some group and not the other, I think, results in the kind of action that I’ve taken. What should happen to these companies that take these kinds of stances? The customers can fire them, and in our case, we fired them.”
I love all the people in my comments saying they’ve deleted their Eventbrite account. Give ’em the Bud Light treatment
🚨Newsflash: being a woman and advocating for such isn’t a hate crime.🚨 pic.twitter.com/EQmh2JbcF1
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 26, 2023
Gaines thanked Youngkin for his decision in a post on X, urging similar action from others. Gaines was told that Eventbrite had determined that her “event is not permitted on the event, Brite marketplace as it violates our community guidelines in terms of service, with which all users agreed to comply.”
Eventbrite faced criticism for previously allowing events that were pro-Hamas to be platformed. One such event, which later was removed from the platform, was called “Stop the Genocide! Free Palestine!” and was organized by “Tempest NYC.”
“Early on Saturday, October 7th, Palestinian resistance fighters broke through Israel’s siege of Gaza,” the event description said. “This panel will explore the historical context that led to the current moment, the dynamics currently at play, and the possibilities for building international solidarity for Palestinian liberation.”
Eventbrite is used by thousands of churches, many of them holding to a biblical view on the sexes. It is not yet known if the episode will weaken that business relationship.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
