Gay Couple in Texas Says an Uber Driver Left Them on the Side of the Freeway After They Kissed

A recently-engaged gay couple in Houston said on Tuesday that they were kicked out of an Uber after a night of celebrating New Year’s Eve for kissing in the car, according to a report from KPRC-TV.

Randall Magill, 28, and Jose Chavez, 26, called an Uber after a night of drinking, only to be kicked out after what they described as a quick, innocent kiss. At that point, they said the driver pulled over and ordered them to get out on the side of the Southwest Freeway without looking for a safer drop-off point.

“I wasn’t doing anything that I wouldn’t have done in public. I’m not going to embarrass myself or my fiancé by any means,” Magill told the local news station. “I’ve never heard of anyone being asked to stop kissing anywhere, especially when you’re just peck on the lips.”

He added the driver told them that he had just told a straight couple to stop kissing as well, but they didn’t buy that explanation when they were left “on the corner of 59 and New Castle, right next to the concrete sound barrier.”

“He said, ‘I can’t take you no more.’” Chavez added. “He was like, ‘I’m going to have to drop you guys off,’ and we said, ‘That’s fine.’ I was upset. I’ve never been told not to kiss or anything.” The couple said they had to walk across the freeway to be able to safely order another car.

According to a statement from Uber to the station, both the driver and the couple reported the incident. Uber also pointed KPRC to their non-discrimination policy and said: “As our community guidelines make clear, you shouldn’t touch or flirt with other people in the car…That’s no sexual conduct with drivers or fellow riders, no matter what.”