Video: Uber Driver Ousts Women Who Kissed In His Car

NEW YORK CITY — An Uber driver forced a woman and her girlfriend out of his car because he saw the pair kiss in the backseat and decided it was “illegal,” video shows.

Alex Iovine was headed from a Gowanus bar to the East Village Sunday afternoon when she and her girlfriend shared a "peck" on the lips that spurred their driver to demand they get out of his car, she told Patch.

"It was just very strange how angry he was," said Iovine, 26. "It was literally a peck. We weren't even sitting next to each other."

Iovine, 26, and her girlfriend, Emma Pichl, 24, each had about two drinks at a birthday party in the Brooklyn bar Pig Beach, but neither were drunk, she said. When they leaned in for a short kiss, the driver pulled over on Canal Street near the Manhattan Bridge and demanded they get out of his car.

“It is illegal,” the driver tells them in the You Tube video. “It’s disrespectful.”

“Kissing is not illegal,” Iovone replies.

When the driver leapt out of the car, the couple started filming. Their video — entitled, "Uber driver kicks 2 girls out of his car for being gay - NYC 2018" — shows him standing on the street and refusing to take the two women any further.

“Why are we not allowed to kiss in an Uber?” Iovone asks.

“You’re not allowed,” he replies. “I don’t want to argue with you — just get out of my car.”

“It’s not illegal to kiss in New York,” Iovine replies.

The pacing driver then swerves and tries to grab the phone out her partner’s hand.

“Don’t f---ing touch her,” she cries. “I’m going to get you fired.”

“I don’t give a s---,” he replies.

An Uber spokesperson told Patch that the ride-share company will look into Iovine's complaint.

While Uber’s community guidelines tells passengers, “don’t touch or flirt with other people in the car," its non-discrimination policy forbids bias against passengers based on sexual orientation.

“Uber does not tolerate any form of discrimination, and we have reached out to the rider regarding her experience," the spokesperson said. "We are investigating and will take appropriate action.”

Iovine is grateful that Uber called her to apologize, and for the flood of support she's received from the friends and strangers since she posted the video. But her concept of the city she lives in has forever changed.

“This stuff can happen anywhere, even in this NYC bubble where I always thought I was invincible from this homophobic stuff," she said.

"I’m going to hesitant to hug or peck my girlfriend in a car service car ever again."

Photo and Video courtesy of YouTube