'Shrek Virus' gives 30,000 ugly people temporary access to dating site

Apologies if you suffer from high blood pressure, because you'll have to take this news with more than a grain of salt...

Self-proclaimed online dating site for hotties, BeautifulPeople.com, claims to have recently suffered a lapse in security allowed 30,000 unattractive people to briefly try to find love on its high standards site.

"We got suspicious when tens of thousands of new members were accepted over a six-week period, many of whom were no oil painting," says managing editor Greg Hodge in a press release.  "We responded immediately, repairing the damage from the 'Shrek Virus' and putting every new member back into the rating module for a legitimate and democratic vote... We have sincere regret for the unfortunate people who were wrongly admitted to the site and who believed, albeit for a short while, that they were beautiful. It must be a bitter pill to swallow, but better to have had a slice of heaven then never to have tasted it at all."

What a charmer.

Now, keep in mind that there is no reason to believe that this was an actual virus. The site claims the bug was placed by a disgruntled former employee, and while it messed with the application process, no other securities were breached and it won't require outside assistance.

Beautiful People has a history of debatably tongue-in-cheek press releases announcing momentary lapses in its pool of attractive types. In 2010, they asked members to reapply after gaining weight over the holiday season.