Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Uber Fires Driver Who Called Gay Passengers “Faggots”

The driver insisted he could "say whatever he wanted."
From: NewNowNext
 A Melbourne Uber driver who harassed two female passengers with homophobic slurs has been sacked after a recording of the disgusting exchange was published by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Lucy Thomas (below), CEO of anti-bullying organization Project Rockit, told the paper that she and her girlfriend hailed the Uber on their way home from dinner Saturday night and were chatting with the driver about their plans to attend a football game the next day.

Thomas said their driver, John, was pretty “jovial” up to that point, but the mention of football set him off on a rant laced with “offensive language” — John said he hated football because it was just “a bunch of faggots touching each other.”

Horrified, the women confronted their driver about his use of language and informed him they were a couple when he asked.

“That’s when he really changed,” said Thomas. “He stopped being cheery and a cloud came over him. He was very aggressive and the tone changed.”

What happened next was luckily caught by Thomas on her smartphone.

Said John: “What, are you going to give me a one [star] rating and make a complaint [to Uber], and when I write my report about two faggots who don’t like being called faggots, then what are they going to say?”

Thomas and her girlfriend refused to leave the man’s car once they reached their destination so that they could continue interrogating him. The couple said they were “terrified” by the man’s threat to drag them out of the car if they didn’t leave voluntarily.


“When we got out we were shaking,” Thomas said. “I sound quite confident in the recording but I was terrified, it was really scary.”

An Uber spokesperson wouldn’t elaborate on the case but confirmed the driver was “removed…from the platform” in a statement to the SMH.

“Uber does not tolerate any form of discrimination, and we have been in contact with this rider to offer our support,” the spokesperson said.

Listen to a recording of part of the conversation below:

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