A teen Vine star set off an Internet firestorm when he posted a video saying HIV "is a gay thing," followed by a homophobic slur.
Nash Grier, who has since apologized for the incident, made the antigay statement in response to a 2012 OraQuick commercial, which showcased people of different sexual orientations, races, ages, and ethnicities saying that HIV affects people regardless of their background.
"It's not a black thing. It's not a white thing. It's not a gay thing. It's not a straight thing. Testing for HIV is everyone's thing," the commercial for the in-home HIV test begins.
Grier's mocking of this message has raised the concern among HIV activists, who worry that youth are receiving the wrong information about issues like testing and safe sex.
“HIV is not just a gay thing. It’s a woman thing, it’s an African-American thing, it’s a Latino thing — it’s something that affects everyone in every community,” said physician Gary Blick, the cofounder of HIV Equal. “It’s time that our youth here in the U.S. wake up and realize that HIV doesn’t discriminate — and neither should they."
“Our youth need to be made aware that stigma against a disease or a community of people is not something that we, as a society, will tolerate," added Tyler Curry, senior editor of HIV Equal Online. "Comments like the ones in Mr. Grier’s Vine video reinforce this point and show the need that our youth here in the U.S. still have much to learn when it comes to HIV — and they are the most affected by the disease.”
Watch the original ad from OraQuick below.