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Homophobic Uber Driver Kicks Gay Man Out Of Car For Doing 'Gay Stuff'

by Sean Abrams
Toby Melville/Reuters

A gay man and his small group of friends were forced out of an Uber in London after the drive told them he didn't want "gay stuff" in his vehicle.

20-year-old Paul Hanafin said that after leaving the well-known nightclub Heaven in Charing Cross, their Uber ride quickly turned sour after a brief kiss on the cheek between two of the men in the backseat, according to Daily Mail.

Then, the driver's attitude shifted gears, as he exclaimed, "You're not doing that in my car."

Hanafin described the alleged "gay stuff" as just "a peck on the cheek between two of my friends to say thank you for coming out to celebrate their birthday."

He also emphasized Heaven's notoriety for being a gay hotspot in all of Europe, saying, "He'd just picked us up from a gay club so it wouldn't have been hard for him to guess we were gay before he accepted the journey."

The group, clearly upset by the incident, was then forced to trek back to their vehicle from an unknown location in London's frigid weather.

After filing a complaint to Uber, Hanafin was glad to see the homophobia would not be tolerated.

Hannafin told Daily Mail,

They were outraged too and were really helpful. They are a modern, international company and dealt with it really well. If if hadn't been for their positive response, I would not be using them again. This was probably just one bad egg.

Fortunately for Hanafin and his friends, a spokesperson for Uber confirmed they took "immediate action" against the drive following an investigation of the event.

I'm an avid Uber rider myself, and though it may be 2017, the idea of this happening has crossed my mind several times.

People are entitled to their opinions. But because not everyone is on board with the idea of two men together romantically, I'm still worried about what might happen if I encounter a homophobic Uber driver while drunk and canoodling in a back seat.

Let's just hope I never have to find out.

Citations: Clubber and his friends were kicked out of an Uber for being GAY after the driver told them he 'didn't want them kissing in his car' (Daily Mail)