20 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | GAYS OVER COVID
Qsaltlake.com | ISSUE 320 | FEBRUARY, 2021
@gaysovercovid public shaming over maskless massive circuit parties starts a ‘gay civil war’
Over the past month, people online have been fascinated by an anonymous Instagram account called @GaysOverCovid,
which curates publicly-posted videos and photos of gay influencers and healthcare workers disregarding public-safety guidelines by partying during the pandemic. The account’s feed showcases gay Christmas soirées with dozens of grinning guests in holiday sweaters, indoor non-socially distant gatherings, and packed all-night circuit parties in COVID-hotspots like Mexico and Brazil. One popular post, which might best be described as an example of gaydenfreude, is a video of a handful of men bobbing in the warm waters of Puerto Vallarta after a gay cruise capsized. The incident, the account joked, was “a series finale ending to 2020.” In the wake of data pointing to massive spikes in infection after holiday travel, GaysOverCovid’s 120,000 followers view the Instagram page as an urgent civic duty. “It’s an opportunity to do something that hadn’t been done before by holding these people who are really popular on social media accountable for their actions,” said Zack Ford, a former editor at the news site ThinkProgress. The thinking goes that “Covid-shaming,” a concept originally used to criticize celebrities like television anchor George Stephanopoulos for running afoul of social distancing measures during the salad days of the pandemic, is a way to reduce the impulse for people to spread the virus and save lives. But as GaysOverCovid continues to enjoy lockdown popularity, one lingering concern has yet to be locked down: Who exactly is the mysterious operator behind the account? Through a series of careful
negotiations and assurances, we were able to conduct a series of brief interviews via Instagram direct message and a 60-minute phone conversation. Here is what we know: The provocateur behind GaysOverCovid is, you guessed it, a gay man. Besides stating that he is in his “late 20s,” he was tight-lipped about all other aspects of his identity due to “threats” made against him online. On the phone, he speaks confidently and has an affable demeanor. He recounted that he started the account in July after joking with friends about how people could not seem to stay indoors during the pandemic. Largely working from home, he noticed many of his peers seemed to be “ignoring the threat of the virus” by being out and about. The account was not an instant sensation. For the first five months of its existence, it garnered just a few thousand followers. But over time, people started to submit content of friends not abiding by public health guidelines for the account to call out. “We would run polls and ask questions about why they would rather have us call them out than confront their own friends,” GaysOverCovid said. “Their response was that they don’t listen. A public forum is better because it sparks change, or at least attempts to.” Heading into the holiday season, the account was noticed by the meme account The LA Basics, which began sharing posts by GaysOverCovid to its close to 100,000 followers on Instagram Stories.
As the covid-vigilante account grew, so too did the intrigue.
“The crazy thing is was we only had 8,000 to 10,000 followers, but the views we were getting on a story were 35,000 to 40,000,” GaysOverCovid said. “That
told me people didn’t want to follow the account because they didn’t want to be associated with it or look like they were supporting it. But they would peek at the stories.” In addition to calling out parties and mask-less gatherings, GaysOverCovid began spotlighting individual gay men, including handsome influencers with perfect bodies and healthcare professionals that flouted social-distancing measures. “If you’re a nurse who has preached all year long about staying home, and the strain everyone has put on the healthcare system, you probably should have stayed home, too,” read a post published last week documenting a gay nurse who had traveled to a Puerto Vallarta for New Year’s celebrations. Another featured Mike Schultz, a nurse at San Francisco’s California Pacific Medical Center who previously contracted COVID-19. He was accused of posting content that showed him preparing for a circuit party in Mexico. While carefree men posted photos and videos from parties, those stuck at home grew angrier. Fights broke out online. Sleuths worked backwards from photos posted by GaysOverCovid to identify people featured in party photos. In response, some gays called out the account as an attack on queer livelihoods. “People stay home too long and they lose control of their lives and try to control other people’s lives,” said Lan Vu, a 37-year-old beauty salon owner from San Francisco who moonlights as an operator of a Facebook party hub called Circuit Bitch (Let Go). Mr. Vu was open about crisscrossing the gay party circuit to attend large all-night events in cities like Houston and Atlanta, pandemic be damned. He said watchdog accounts are “like Salem Witch hunting,” adding that
