A Lyft driver in Pennsylvania said he refused to drive a “racist” bar-owner and her boyfriend — and now a video showing the interaction has amassed millions of views.
James Bode, a ride-share driver for Lyft, had just arrived to pick up a woman named “Jackie” on the evening of May 13 when something she said made him do a double take.
“Wow, you’re like a white guy,” the woman can be heard saying in the dashcam video timestamped at 10:27 p.m..
“Excuse me,” Bode asked.
“You’re like, a normal guy?” she replied as she got settled into the back of the car. “You speak English?”
Bode looked incredulous.
“Sorry,” she laughed, patting Bode on the shoulder.
“No, you can get out of the car,” Bode told her.
This interaction and what followed has sparked thousands of comments and over 9 million views as of May 16 after being reposted to Twitter.
According to Bode, the interaction happened outside of Fossil’s Last Stand in Catasauqua, a suburb of Allentown. When asked if the woman and her companion, who attempted to join the ride after Bode ordered them out of the car, are owners of the bar, the woman nodded her head yes, Bode said in his post.
McClatchy News reached out to Fossil’s Last Stand for comment and did not receive a response.
Police confirmed to McClatchy News that the woman pictured in the video owns the bar. The companion in the video is her boyfriend, Leigh Valley Live reported.
“That’s completely inappropriate,” Bode said to the woman, who appeared to be in disbelief.
“If someone was not white sitting in this seat, what would be the difference,” he asked her. When Bode relayed the woman’s greeting to her boyfriend, he began to get angry, and threatened Bode. As the man began to yell at Bode, the Lyft driver reminded them that the interaction was all being recorded.
“You’re going to threaten me? It’s because you guys are racist -----,” Bode replied as the two began to exit the vehicle. The woman’s boyfriend then used several expletives before he called the driver a “(racial slur) lover” and slammed the door.
Bode told the pair he was calling the police.
“You guys own the place?” Bode asked. “That’s great, everyone’s going to know. Fossil’s Last Stand for Black people, right?”
Catasauqua police confirmed to McClatchy News that a harassment report was filed that evening by the ride-share driver, with the incident under investigation.
“If you make me feel uncomfortable, I will absolutely do the same, especially in my car or property,” Bode wrote on Facebook.
Lyft posted a statement regarding the viral video on May 15.
“We are incredibly grateful to Lyft driver @Jameswb333 for instantly shutting down this hate & upholding our no tolerance anti-discrimination policies,” the company wrote on Twitter. “We’re looking into these riders & are in touch with James to show our thanks.”
Since the video’s posting, Fossil’s Last Stand has been inundated with negative reviews by Yelp posters. The platform removed the ability to post reviews due to “increased public attention.”
“While racism has no place on Yelp and we unequivocally reject racism or discrimination in any form, all reviews on Yelp must reflect an actual first-hand consumer experience,” Yelp said in a statement on the bar’s page.
After receiving an onslaught of messages regarding the video, Bode posted thanking his supporters.
“For everyone reaching out and showing suppor t, thank you. I appreciate it, truly. But this is the way it should be everywhere, every time,” he wrote. “I shouldn’t be ‘the guy’ who did it or said it…we should all be that person.”
