A black TikTok influencer has shared the shocking moment when her white Uber driver called her the n-word in an argument over the car’s air conditioning before being swiftly banned by the rideshare giant.
Houston-born singer and influencer Abby Nicole, 25, exposed the driver — known only as Frank — on Tuesday after an argument over why he refused to drive her, telling her “it’s because you’re a ****.” *’.
Her now-viral video begins in the middle of an argument after Nicole asks the man to turn down the air conditioning, and she asks him what the problem is – to which he replies, “I’ll call the police.”
She asks him why, and he says, “Because I don’t want you in my car.” He goes on to say that her request to turn down the air conditioning was part of the reason, then says he was instructed to come through the gate when “all the gates were locked.”
When Frank refuses to talk about it any further, Nicole says, “You’re weird, you’re racist.” That’s what it is.’ Watching her climb out of the car, Frank says, “Yeah, you too, have a nice day.” Yes, that’s because you’re a *****.’
Uber has now apologized and banned the driver from the platform after Nicole posted the video to TikTok and Instagram for her audience of over 700,000 people.
Nicole’s video has since received over 380.5,000 views and over 6,000 comments on TikTok
The Uber driver known only as “Frank” was banned from the platform after this incident
At the end of the clip, Nicole asked him to repeat what he said, and Frank said, “You hear me.”
Because I’m a what? Because I’m a*****?’
“Because you behave that way,” he said back.
“Because you’re kicking me out for asking you to turn down the air conditioner because you’re my driver. I’m a*****, right? Say it again,’ Nicole said.
At this point the driver seemed to notice he was being picked up by the passenger and said, ‘I’m not saying anything… no. Nice day.’
In her caption to the post, Nicole claimed that her video was interrupted because the Uber driver put the car in reverse, accelerated and “slammed” her with the door.
While Nicole’s Instagram bio mentions that she lives in Houston, Texas, it’s unclear where the video was shot.
The response exploded as others tagged Uber and stood up for Nicole — who also posted a screenshot of Frank’s Uber profile, which says he’s an Uber Pro Platinum driver.
She tagged Uber founder Travis Kalanick in the post.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, an Uber spokesperson said: “Discrimination and violence are never acceptable, and we do not tolerate that behavior on the Uber platform. We have banned the driver from the Uber platform and have contacted the passenger to contact her.”
The company also posted a comment under Nicole’s Instagram post: “This is not okay and we are so sorry this happened. Uber does not tolerate any form of violence or discrimination. We are aware of this and are investigating.’
A fellow influencer, Adrianna Thomas, also took to Instagram to share Uber’s response, where they confirmed that Frank the Uber driver is now banned and that they “don’t condone this kind of behavior”
Nicole posted the Uber driver’s name and photo on it and tagged Uber founder Travis Kalanick
In her caption to the post, Nicole claimed her video was cut because the Uber driver put the car in reverse, accelerated and “hit” her.
Abby Nicole, 25, shared the video she took late Tuesday night in which her Uber driver, an elderly white man, called her the n-word
Nicole’s TikTok video has been viewed more than 380.5,000 times and has received more than 6,000 comments since she posted this Tuesday.
Others commented under Nicole’s first video, saying things like, “Thanks for keeping your cool. This is disturbing. You just have to do your job and respect the next person. That’s wild.’
It similarly went viral on Instagram, where 675 people commented, tagged Uber, and some even added words of support and advice for Nicole.
Uber has a “Zero Tolerance To Racism” page on their site, where they address anti-racism education for riders and drivers, provide specialized customer support training, and provide transparency about their progress.
The rideshare platform also told DailyMail.com that in May 2021 they created an easier way for users to report incidents of racism or discrimination on the app.
Uber has an Incident Response Team available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to respond to these types of incidents.