The Story Of How Dozens Of Men Were Tricked Into A Mass Tinder Date In New York City

As if modern dating didn’t already come with enough challenges and concerns, somewhere in the ballpark of around 100 dudes got tricked into a mass Tinder date in New York City over the weekend.

The stories of those who have spoken out are overwhelmingly similar: several weeks ago they matched with an attractive woman named Natasha, who is an actress, model, and singer — according to her Instagram profile. After exchanging numbers and text messages, “Natasha” claimed to be working on a “huge presentation” for her job, but asked the men to reconnect when she had more free time.

After several weeks went by, despite having since deleted her Tinder account Natasha did indeed make good on her promise, and contacted her suitors to meet her for an alleged friend’s DJ set near Union Square on Sunday afternoon. When they arrived however, they found that they, along with dozens of other men, had been duped into a gauntlet situation. On stage, flanked by two security guards, Natasha informed the crowd that they had been cordially invited to a “chance to go on a date” with her and then proceeded to list the criteria she requires in a potential suitor.

The Gothamist spoke to a 22-year-old social media intern named Spencer who was one of the guys who showed up, admitting that there were red flags that he had ignored:

“She contacted me, she said, ‘Hey we should get a drink sometime. But, oh, I got held up by this presentation so let’s do it later.’ So a month goes by and she says ‘Hey, I’m finally free, do you wanna meet me at Union Square for my friend’s DJ set, we’ll get a drink and we’ll see what happens'” [Spencer] said, noting that Natasha used the winky face emoji at the end.

Once the ruse had been revealed, Spencer says he left. “I’m not saying that I have the most self-respect in the world,” he joked, “but who the f*** would stay?”

The date was also detailed in a highly entertaining Twitter thread by another one of her many, many Tinder matches.

And here’s the exact moment when he realized he had been duped:

“It’s an amazing story,” Spencer said of the experience. “And as far as scams go, it wasn’t that bad. I spent $2.75 on a subway ticket. The only one who it really backfired on was her.”

Indeed, most of the men declined to participate. “The gist of it was she wanted to do Live Tinder, said a 28-year-old New Jersey resident named Nicholas. “Folks were pretty mad.” At least one was vocal in his displeasure, as seen in the video below.

Still, a handful did stay and play along:

It’s unclear whether or not Natasha found her Prince Charming, or if Natasha is even her real name for that matter. Hopefully no one woke up in a bathtub full of ice and missing a liver the next morning, anyway.

(Via Gothamist)