TORONTO — A Canadian man says he was kicked out of an Uber cab in London, England over a public display of affection with his boyfriend.
Jordan Sloan of Toronto and Corey Watts, who lives in London, are accusing the driver of homophobia.
The two men got in the back of the Uber vehicle early on New Year’s Eve in central London and headed to meet friends in south London.
“We were talking and cuddling on one side of the cab and shared a few kisses,” Sloan told Global News.
The 23-year-old has been dating Watts for about four months.
Sloan says about a minute into the ride, the driver pulled the car over and ordered them out.
“My boyfriend got a bit hot-headed and starting arguing with the driver. I wanted to have more of a conversation and find out the driver’s motive,” he recalls.
“I asked him why he had asked us to leave. Was it because we are gay?”
Sloan says the driver said he has many gay customers but they don’t “do this” — referring to the physical contact.
“I was shocked because we were so tame. I have been more affectionate on the street,” Sloan says.
“I asked if we were a straight couple would he do the same thing? He didn’t really answer the question and ended up continuing the drive.”
Sloan says he told the driver he was discriminating against the couple and, after a few uncomfortable minutes, they got out of the cab.
Watts tweeted about the incident. “Just got asked to get out of an @Uber cab for kissing my boyfriend,” he wrote. “Flipped my s***.”
Reaction on social media was immediate, with some people accusing the couple of being out of line. Watts, who describes himself on Twitter as a “chronic attention seeker,” fought back.
Watts said “anyone should be able to kiss.”
The tweets got the attention of Uber, which responded within 24 hours.
Sloan says the company contacted Watts directly to apologize for the experience and promised to investigate.
In a statement to media, Uber said it “does not tolerate any form of discrimination either by our partner drivers or towards our partner drivers. We opened an investigation from the moment we learned of this unacceptable incident and have been in contact with the rider to extend our sincere apologies and get further information.
“The driver concerned has been suspended from the Uber platform.”
Sloan, who returns to Toronto on Sunday but hopes to relocate to London, says he believes the driver would never have ordered them out of the cab if they were an opposite-sex couple.
“The behaviour we were displaying would have been considered appropriate conduct to anyone,” he says, “but it wasn’t considered appropriate in this situation because of our sexuality.
“That’s the main point really.”
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