Have you had a homophobic experience in an Uber, Lyft, Taxi, etc? Wish you could have had evidence of the poor treatment? A Melbourne, Australia couple didn't have the best experience during a recent Uber experience and most of it was caught "on tape."
A Melbourne Uber driver has been sacked after using abusive language towards two gay female passengers.
Lucy Thomas – who is CEO of anti-bullying educational organisation Project Rockit – and her girlfriend hailed an Uber ride home from dinner on Smith Street, Collingwood on Saturday night. When they began talking about their plans to go to the footy on Sunday, things turned nasty.
The driver, whom they know only as John, said he "hated" football because the players were "a bunch of faggots touching each other", according to Thomas.
"He went on a bit of a rant; he was cheery and jovial but he was using really offensive language," she says. Thomas told John she was offended by his words, which she says also included "Abo", "spastic", "retard" and "a six letter word with two Gs".
"He was saying it's okay for him to use that word ['Abo'] because he has Aboriginal blood," Thomas says.
Turning point
John asked if the couple was gay. When Thomas' girlfriend answered "yes", "that's when he really changed", Thomas says.
"He stopped being cheery and a cloud came over him. He was very aggressive and the tone changed."
She recorded what followed next on her smartphone. – smh.com.au
“The driver didn’t see us as a threat until he realised we weren’t straight.
“The only reason we decided to share this is because we want the community to know these issues are still a problem… given the current climate in Australia, it’s now more important than ever that LGBTI people are visible along with the discrimination they face.”
Since sharing the audio on Twitter, Ms Thomas has been informed the driver has been banned from driving Uber. – au.news.yahoo.com
Have you had similar experiences?
Do you let things like that go or report them?