DAVIE, Fla. – A New York woman claims she and her girlfriend were left stranded Tuesday night after their Uber driver objected to the couple hugging each other in the back seat.
"He, like, starts speaking part English, part Spanish, saying, 'What you do in privacy of your own home, like, I don't care, but you are not going to do that in my car,'" Andrea Toro said.
On vacation from New York City, Toro and her girlfriend Natalie Bedon were heading to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when the driver, who was only identified as Jose, forced them to get out of the car at a gas station in Davie.
"He actually went to the extent of going to the gas station, opening the trunk, like, violently taking our luggage out," Toro said.
Toro said she contacted Uber about the incident, which she calls a disturbing case of discrimination.
"Some may think after reading this post that, 'Hey, it wasn't so bad, not like you were beaten up or something,' but they weren't the ones who felt less than," Toro wrote on Instagram. "They didn't helplessly stand in that gas station and watch the car drive away with no repercussions because it's not against the law to be homophobic."
Uber said it was investigating the incident. A similar incident happened in January when a gay couple from Houston said their Uber driver left them on the side of the road after they kissed.
At the time, Uber pointed to the company's nondiscrimination policy.
"Uber seeks to ensure that safe, reliable, and high-quality transportation options are available to everyone," according to the company's website. "Uber and its affiliates therefore prohibit discrimination against riders or drivers based on race, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, gender identity, age or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law."