‘Because I Don’t Want You In My Car’: White Uber Driver Calls Black Woman the N-Word, Allegedly Tries to Hit Her with Vehicle
An Uber driver allegedly threatened to call the police on a Black woman before calling her a racial slur, according to a viral video.
TikTok influencer @theabbynicole recorded the interaction and posted it on the platform last week. During the 39-second video, the driver told the woman, whose name reportedly is Nicole, that he didn’t want her in his vehicle.
“What’s the problem?” the woman asked from the backseat.
“I will call the police. It’s OK,” the driver, who appears to be white, responded. “Because I don’t want you in my car.”
Nicole asks the driver the reasoning behind his request.
“Because I asked you to turn the AC down,” she said.
“That’s part of the reason,” the driver responded. He said he didn’t want to enter a gate during the ride. After a brief back and forth, Nicole decided to exit the vehicle.
“You’re weird,” she told him. “It’s giving racist.”
According to the video, the driver calls her the N-word and doubles down on his statement.
“Because I’m a what?” Nicole said.
“You heard me,” the driver said, looking back at her. “Because you’re acting like one.”
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It’s unclear what happened before and after the incident. In the video’s caption, the influencer alleges that the video cut off because the driver immediately put the car in reverse while getting her belongings out of the vehicle, adding that he “hit” her “while the car door was open.”
In a statement to Newsweek, an Uber rep said the company contacted Nicole and emphasized that “discrimination and violence are never acceptable.” They also noted that the driver was banned from the platform.
Nicole expressed how the incident emotionally impacted her in a follow-up video on her page. She thanked everyone for their support and for spreading awareness. The comments section was flooded with people offering her love and prayers.
“At the end of the day, it was something traumatic that I experienced. I’m trying to wrap my head around everything because it’s… surreal,” she said. “I’m healing. I’m trying to get my emotions, thoughts, [and] mind together.”