An Uber driver was filmed by a passenger appearing to say they didn't think being gay is 'normal'. The video, uploaded to social media platforms by Charlie Gardner, shows her in a taxi in Manchester city centre last month.
The driver can be heard saying: "I don't find it normal. How can same sex be normal?" Charlie is heard challenging the driver.
Charlie, 31, who identifies as a lesbian, shared the clip to Instagram and TikTok. Thousands of people soon watched. The Uber support team commented under one post saying they were investigating.
"It was so weird," Charlie said. "I had been in therapy that morning in Manchester and had just been talking about how when I was younger, I was shy and wouldn't stand up for myself if someone had something negative to say about me, but that I am now older and less tolerant to ignorance.
"I walked out, jumped into the taxi, and I got the impression [they] made an assumption about me and wanted to provoke me a little bit. The news was on the radio and they were talking about monkeypox rates, and then [the driver's] first comment was that it was a 'gay disease'.
"Straight away that got my back up, and I had a feeling [they were] going to say something else. Then [they] said 'they're trying to normalise it, aren't they?' about gay people, so I just pulled my phone out and that's when I started to record."
In the clip, Charlie tells the driver: "I'm gay."
They respond: "I mean... without being offensive, but..."
She replies: "How can you not be offensive by saying there is nothing normal about that?"
The driver says: "I don't find it normal. How can same sex be normal?
Charlie asks: "Why?"
The driver then asks: "How? How can it be normal? How is having same sex intercourse normal?"
Charlie responds: "Because it's two people that are attracted to one another, and they express that in the same way that straight people express it. It's perfectly normal, it's perfectly natural."
She told the Manchester Evening News : "I shared it because I wanted to show how these kinds of conversations, as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, aren't uncommon or rare. It is just exhausting.
Charlie, who lives in Castlefield, said she initially complained through the Uber app and was later refunded for the trip. Aafter sharing the footage online, Uber commented, writing: "Discrimination is never allowed on the Uber platform and we are investigating."
An Uber spokesperson told the M.E.N: "Everybody should feel safe and welcome when riding with Uber and any form of abuse or discrimination on our platform is totally unacceptable. We offer our deepest apologies to Charlie for her experience.
"In line with our safety policies, we are currently investigating this incident."
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