This is…bad.  Nash Grier, a 16-year old Vine star with 8.7 million followers released this video in April but the video has come under the spotlight.  He’s showing a commercial for an HIV home-testing kit  where they say “Testing for HIV, it’s not a gay thing”.  Grier then says “Yes it is! Fag!”
The F word makes me cringe in agony each time I hear it.  Hearing an obnoxious teenage boy screaming it makes it worse somehow.  Grier has released an apology statement saying he is sorry and that he “was young and in a bad place”.   I think it’s safe to say the countless people that have been bullied for their sexual orientation or HIV status are the ones that were in a bad place. 

This type of language is nothing short of a hate-crime.  Virtual in nature but very much real.  We all know HIV is not a “gay thing”.

Here are some facts from the CDC.  Read the full report here.

Transmission Category: From 2008 through 2011, among adult and adolescent males, the annual number of diagnosed HIV infections attributed to male-to-male sexual contact increased. The numbers of infections attributed to injection drug use, to male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use, and to heterosexual contact decreased. Among adult and adolescent females, the numbers of infections attributed to injection drug use and to heterosexual contact decreased. In 2011, diagnosed infections attributed to male-to-male sexual contact (65%, including male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use) and those attributed to heterosexual contact (27%) accounted for approximately 92% of diagnosed HIV infections in the United States.

Hope this kids learns his lesson and uses his fame for good.