Tennessee businessman Ray Rico said when he ordered himself an Uber to get home from Memphis’s popular gay bar, Dru’s Place over the weekend, he didn’t expect to be ridiculed, mistreated and nearly maimed by a homophobic driver.
Rico told WREG-TV the driver immediately let him know there might be trouble upon picking him up Friday night, when he told him, “Faggot, no food in my car.” Rico was carrying a closed “take out” cardboard box of pizza. The passenger told the TV station he said, “Stop and let me out, and he said ‘Get the fuck out, you suck my dick.'”
Rico had had enough, got out and canceled the ride. But when he used the Uber app to summon another driver, the man with the antigay attitude returned under another profile. This one didn’t have the same name nor a profile picture, but Rico wasn’t fooled.
“I immediately asked his name when I opened the door and he continues to say “Fuck you, fag, suck my cock.” I closed the door and took his photo of his license plate.”
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WREG tweeted that picture:
Rico was able to snap these photos of the #Uber driver's car and report the incident to police and the company pic.twitter.com/jEVJALhRn8
— Michael Quander WUSA (@MikeQReports) August 1, 2016
But the driver wasn’t done. “He put his car in reverse and backed into me. IN FRONT OF PEOPLE!!! ” Rico posted.
He shared a screengrab of the Uber driver’s profile and both the company and Memphis police are investigating.
The customer sent @3onyourside this screen shot of the #Uber driver he said used gay slurs and tried to run him over pic.twitter.com/1jJDJQHMPJ
— Michael Quander WUSA (@MikeQReports) August 1, 2016
Rico told WREG, “If he had a problem with gay people, why he was picking up from a gay bar?”
The driver is off the streets pending that investigation.
Uber released a statement:
“The reported conduct has no place on the Uber platform and we’re reviewing both parties involvement in the matter.”