Nash Grier, Vine Star, Faces Backlash For Using Gay Slur In Video Joking About HIV

Vine personality Nash Grier is once again facing criticism for a video he posted in which he uses a homophobic slur.

According to High Point’s WGHP, the 16-year-old uploaded the video to his Vine account in April. It was quickly removed from his account but was later recorded and reposted by another Vine user later the same month.

The video begins with a clip from an HIV-testing commercial.

“Testing for HIV. It’s not a gay thing,” an actor in the video says.

The video then cuts to Grier’s face, and he yells, “Yes it is!” He then shouts a slur used to describe a gay person.

When the video began to trend on social media, YouTube personality Tyler Oakley came across the clip and reposted it to his account on Sunday.

Grier, who lives in Davidson, North Carolina, quickly posted an apology for the video after Oakley shared the clip. Grier posted the following message to his Twitter account on Sunday afternoon:

Grier is the most-followed person on Vine. He currently has around 8.7 million followers on the social media site. With the amount of influence that Grier has on Vine and other social media outlets – he has 2.7 million Twitter followers – many people say they are both disappointed and frustrated that he used such a derogatory word in his video.

Matt Comer, editor of qnotes, Charlotte’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community publication, told the Charlotte Observer that Grier should “put some action behind the apology” and seek opportunities to volunteer with an AIDS service organization or a group that offers support to LGBT youth.

A Change.org petition has also been launched, requesting that Grier publicly apologize for his statements on HIV and for using the slur.