Uber, NYC Taxi Commission Fire Driver Who Booted Lesbian Couple For Kissing

Ride-sharing giant Uber had to fire at least its third driver this month for misconduct on the job. Driver Ahmad El Boutari was filmed kicking a lesbian couple out of his car during an Uber ride in New York for kissing in the backseat, which led to harsh comments from Uber’s CEO and multiple consequences for El Boutari.

The two women, Emma Pichl and Alex Iovine, were in a car going between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan on Saturday when the incident occurred, according to the Associated Press. The couple reportedly leaned in for a kiss in the backseat, prompting El Boutari to accuse them of wrongdoing and expel them from the vehicle.

El Boutari said what they did was illegal and “disrespectful,” according to the AP. He went on to accuse the two women of blasting music from a phone and otherwise being disruptive, which Iovine denied.

Uber’s community guidelines prohibit sexual activity in Uber-designated cars, by both drivers and riders. However, the company also has a “zero tolerance” policy towards discrimination of any kind, including that based on sexual orientation.

El Boutari had his access to the Uber app revoked. He also had his livery license suspended by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission on Tuesday. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi blasted the driver in an interview with the New York Post, saying people like that “don’t belong on Uber.”

“This is an open society and Uber is a platform that is available to anybody regardless of your background, your orientation, and that is sacred to us,” Khosrowshahi told the Post. “It’s an unfortunate circumstance and we will do everything we can for that not to repeat.”

Earlier this month, Uber fired two drivers in separate incidents that both generated national headlines. A driver in Houston was barred from the app after he was filmed soliciting sex from a passenger. Meanwhile, a Denver driver lost his access after he shot and killed a passenger, allegedly in self-defense, during an Uber ride.