Lyft fires homophobic taxi driver following PinkNews report
(Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Lyft)
PinkNews Exclusive
Lyft has removed a homophobic taxi driver following a PinkNews report.
The US mobile taxi service fired the driver who worked in Atlanta, Georgia, after they went made a number of homophobic comments to their passenger.
Austin Vaden, the passenger in the Lyft taxi, told PinkNews how the driver told him that she believed being gay was a choice.
She also said that she believed the Government was making children gay by putting something in immunisations shots that are administered.
Vaden lodged a complaint with the platform and PinkNews can confirm that the driver has since been removed.
Scott Coriell, a spokesperson for Lyft, confirmed that the company were committed to promoting inclusivity.
Coriell said: Lyft has a strict anti-discrimination policy. We are committed to maintaining an inclusive and welcoming community, and these comments are completely at odds with our values as a company.
“As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we deactivated the driver from the Lyft platform.
“No one using our service should ever feel discriminated against because of who they are, and we have reached out to the passenger to express our concern about this incident.”
Vaden told PinkNews that he was shocked by the driver’s behaviour.
“I’m barely ever at a loss for words, but when she kept going on and on about homosexuality being a choice and how vaccinations were making men gay, I had no idea what to say.
“When people believe things that crazy, you aren’t going to change their minds in a 10-minute drive.”
The 31-year-old explained that he felt sorry for the driver’s daughter, as the driver told Vaden that her daughter was lesbian.
“I think she had the right person in the car because someone could have definitely reacted much differently than I did.”
He added that he knew people were still homophobic, but hopes that it would not stop young LGBT people from coming out.
“I know this mindset is out there, and I truly feel for their family members who are too afraid to be themselves because of their families’ beliefs or opinions,” he said.
