Nash Grier

Confirmed 79,491

About

Nash Grier is a video blogger known for his active presence and large following on the video-sharing mobile app Vine, where he became the most-followed user in January 2014.

History

On April 9th, 2013, Grier joined the photo-sharing site Instagram.^[6] On April 16th, Grier created a feed on the video blogging service Vine,^[1] where he shares short sketch videos featuring slapstick comedy, lip dubs and his fellow video blogger friends. On October 13th, a Facebook^[7] fan page for Grier was launched. On the following day, The Daily Mail^[4] published an article about Grier, noting that he had reached over 1.4 million Vine followers. On October 16th, Grier was interviewed on the television program Inside Edition (shown below).

The same day, ABC News^[12] published an article about the video blogger, noting he had eclipsed celebrities Ellen DeGeneres, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber in Vine followers. On November 26th, Redditor lou_sassil submitted a screenshot of several insulting direct messages from Grier to the /r/teenagers^[10] subreddit (shown below).

On December 5th, Grier launched his personal Tumblr^[5] blog. On December 19th, MTV^[3] listed Grier as one of the best Viners of 2013. On December 20th, an entry for Grier was created on Urban Dictionary.^[8] On January 16th, 2014, Grier became the most popular Vine blogger in the world with over five million followers.^[2] In addition, Grier had accumulated upwards of 2.2 million Instagram followers, 1.05 million Twitter followers and 960,000 Facebook likes. On January 20th, Grier uploaded a video to YouTube in which he and several other video bloggers attempt to remain speechless for 2 minutes (shown below). The following day, Redditor m_chellen submitted the video to the /r/cringe^[11] subreddit, where it garnered over 1,500 up votes and 350 comments in the first 24 hours.

Controversy

On December 20th, 2013, Grier uploaded a video to YouTube in which he and fellow Viners Cameron Dallas and JC Caylen discuss a list of traits and qualities they find attractive in the opposite sex (shown below). In the video, they also mull over certain things that they find unattractive in a rather mocking tone, criticizing women with "fake tits," girls who are “obnoxious and loud” and those who refuse to shave their body hair.

Five days later, the original upload of the video was removed after being heavily criticized for being offensive to women. Before it was removed, YouTubers Hank Green and Lamarr Wilson left comments denouncing the video as irresponsible (shown below).

Homophobia Controversy

On April 11th, 2014, Vine user MuneraIsFab^[13] uploaded a Vine clip^[18] created by Nash Grier which he has since deleted, which features a PSA for HIV testing and ends with Grier yelling "fag." Within three months the Vine gained over 1.4 millions loops.

The Vine clip gained more attention when popular gay YouTuber Tyler Oakely tweeted^[14] it out followed by another tweet critizing Grier's homophobia and the spreading of misinformation about HIV. Within 48 hours Oakely's first tweet gained over 7,000 retweets and over 14,000 favorites.

The same day, Grier tweeted an apology in the form of a screenshot of a tweet over 140 characters. Within 48 hours the tweet gained over 19,000 retweets and over 53,000 favorites.

On July 8th, 2014, Gawker published a post titled "16-Year-Old Vine Celebrity Nash Grier Uploaded And Deleted A Video Saying Only Gay People Get HIV," which featured the angry responses of Twitter users towards Grier. The same day several sites covered the Vine including Gawker^[16] and Hollywood Life.^[17]