Lyft driver kicks out gay couple mid-ride after back-seat kiss
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A gay couple in Indianapolis, Indiana, said they were kicked out of a ride-share vehicle earlier this month for kissing in the backseat.
College students Ben Martella and Alec Jansen were sharing a Lyft to a location a few miles off of Butler University’s campus, but a mile into the ride, after the couple shared a kiss, the Lyft driver ordered them to get out of the car at a red light, they told The Indianapolis Star.
“I’m going to end your ride. I can’t have that in my car. I don’t have that here,” Martella claimed the driver yelled at them at a stoplight.
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He tweeted about the incident May 5.
“Was just discriminated against by @lyft my ride kicked me out because I was kissing another man,” Martella, the Butler student, said. “He kicked us out and I still have to pay. Disappointed and feel unfairly judged by this service.”
Martella described the back-seat interaction as a “peck between my boyfriend and I.”
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Lyft reportedly deactivated the driver from ever using the service again, apologized to the couple and refunded the cost of the trip, as the San Francisco-based ride-hailing company has an anti-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation.
Martella is reportedly weighing legal action against Lyft, saying their response was not enough.