Watch: Millionaire’s son caught on camera calling Uber driver a ‘minimum wage faggot’
The son of a New York millionaire is under investigation after he was caught spewing homophobic abuse at an Uber driver.
The incident occurred on March 23 when Jake Croman, a student at the University of Michigan and son of New York property magnate Steven Croman, requested a ride on the popular app.
However, 60-year-old driver Artur Zawada cancelled the pickup after the student grew hostile – and filmed Mr Croman yelling abuse and homophobic insults at him.
Mr Croman ranted: “You’re cancelling us again, why? For what? See they don’t give a s**t about you. They don’t give two f**ks. There’s 50 of you.
“There’s one of me who spends the most money here, you little f**k. Yeah, f**k you, Arthur, you little faggot f**k. You wanna kick me off?
“Kick me off, you little piece of s**t. You’re an Uber driver, go f**king drive you little f**k. Minimum wage faggot, go f**k yourself. See you later.
“Go pick up another f**k. You working all day? Guess what? I’m going to go sit on my a** and watch TV. F**k you.”
A spokesperson for the University of Michigan confirmed the university had looked into the incident – but is waiting for the conclusion of a police investigation before taking action.
He added that the dean has met with both the Uber driver and the students involved, according to Michigan Live.
He said: “We find the actions depicted in this video to be reprehensible and completely inconsistent with our community’s closely held values.
“We expect more from our students. Regardless of the circumstances, no one deserves to be treated that way.”
Mr Zawada, who filmed the incident, claims he cancelled the ride because Mr Croman had been rude to him on a number of occasions, adding: “Rider knew from Uber application who is the driver. He had option to cancel to avoid any issues but he/they proceeded to abuse, harrase, belittle and provoke like kindergarten thugs.”
He told The Tab: “I have lived in this country for 30 years. To see someone have complete disregard for another human being — to be abused just because they overloaded the car or they are mean or rude, I have to put a stop for it. I was shocked. I was just in disbelief.”
In response to news stories about the incident, Mr Croman claimed that Mr Zawada is anti-Semitic.
He said: “What you don’t see in the video is that the driver had made a number of offensive anti-Semitic remarks that provoked my response. I am not proud of my reaction to his discrimination and I regret my choice of words.”
Both Mr Zawada and Mr Croman are understood to have filed police complaints over the incident.
A statement from Uber says: “Any type of aggression or harassment is simply unacceptable and violates Uber’s code of conduct for riders and drivers.
“We are looking into all the details as we investigate this incident and are in touch with everyone involved.”
