Audio platform Quinn issued a public apology after fans criticized the app for editing out a reference to trans women in a video interview featuring Heated Rivalry stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams. The controversy unfolded over several days and prompted renewed discussion about inclusion, representation and accountability within queer media spaces.
The issue began with a short video clip posted to Quinn’s Instagram, since deleted, in which Storrie and Williams interviewed each other about the popularity of queer male romance stories, including Heated Rivalry, among women audiences. The initial clip did not draw concern, but fans soon requested the full interview.
On Jan. 3, Quinn shared a longer version of the interview on YouTube, noting on social media that the demand was unprecedented. “We’ve never had demand for the full Quinn interview before,” the app wrote. It was in this extended cut that fans noticed a discrepancy between the shorter and longer versions.
In the original short clip, Williams discussed how queer male romance resonates with a wide range of women viewers. “Even just women, you know, there are straight women, there are gay women, queer women,” he said, adding that traditional heterosexual romances often force viewers to identify with rigid, outdated female archetypes.
However, in the longer version of the interview, Williams explicitly included trans women in that list — a phrase that was missing from the shorter edit. Fans quickly pointed out the omission, accusing Quinn of erasing trans women from the conversation.
Quinn responded the same day, explaining that the edit was made to avoid conflating gender identity with sexual orientation. “Because it’s not a sexual orientation and he was listing sexual orientations and we wanted to distinguish the two,” the app wrote, acknowledging a likely typo in the explanation.
The response did little to quell criticism. Fans noted that Williams was not strictly listing sexual orientations but rather naming different groups of women, making the removal of “trans women” feel unnecessary and exclusionary.
By Sunday, Quinn posted a more extensive apology on social media, acknowledging the harm caused by the edit. “We made a mistake,” the statement read. “We understand why this edit was offensive and exclusionary, and we sincerely apologize. Our intention was to avoid conflating gender identity and sexual orientation, but removing that portion from the short-form interview was a mistake.”
The company added that it has previously highlighted romance stories featuring trans characters and confirmed it had made a donation to Trans Lifeline. Proof of the donation was shared in a follow-up post.
Under continued pressure from users, Quinn also released a second version of the full interview, removing jump cuts that some viewers felt further contributed to the controversy.
The incident arrives as Quinn continues to grow rapidly within the audio erotica space. The app has become known for immersive romance stories, often voiced by well-known actors, in which characters speak directly to listeners. Past contributors have included Manny Jacinto, Andrew Scott and The Summer I Turned Pretty star Tom Blyth, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Williams and Storrie recently starred in Ember & Ice, a fae romance that marked a departure from Quinn’s typical first-person storytelling. The release proved so popular that it temporarily crashed the app.
CEO Caroline Spiegel previously told Vogue that Pedro Pascal is the platform’s most requested narrator and said Quinn hopes to collaborate with high-profile actors such as Jonathan Bailey, Idris Elba, Austin Butler and Hunter Schafer.
Despite its success, Quinn has faced ongoing criticism from some users, particularly regarding a perceived lack of diversity in its content offerings. Reddit threads dedicated to the app frequently raise concerns about representation, underscoring why the recent controversy resonated so strongly with its audience.
