Update: Though Uber did not comment specifically on Holliday's incident, the company has responded to Refinery29's request for comment with a statement saying, “We expect all riders and drivers to treat each other with respect as laid out in our Community Guidelines.” The Uber spokesperson also pointed to the company's standards, "which clearly reject any inappropriate and disrespectful behavior."
Months after #DeleteUber began trending, the ride-sharing company is still having difficulties managing its public image. On Tuesday, model Tess Holliday announced that she is boycotting Uber after allegedly being body-shamed by one of its drivers.
Holliday posted an Instagram video in which the driver can be heard mentioning "cholesterol," writing, "my driver who is fat is questioning if I'm healthy."
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"My cholesterol is fine, I'm perfect," she can be heard telling him. "I'm healthy."
Holliday wrote in her caption that not only will she no longer pay to use the company's luxury black car service, she is deleting the app altogether.
"Hey @uber I don't pay more to use your 'black car' service to be told that there's no way I could possibly be healthy because I'm fat & then questioning it," she wrote. "No one should have to tolerate this at any level of the services you offer."
"I'm fat," she continued. "I also have a fat wallet & will no longer be using your services. Ever."
Holliday said that after she assured him that she was healthy, he turned the radio off and changed the subject.
To clarify, she also added, "saying my driver is fat was obviously being used as a descriptor & not to insult him. Also I did not show his face or use his name when filming, it was to be able to show what I deal with daily & why this behavior is unacceptable from anyone."
You probably don't need us to tell you that commenting on a stranger's weight as small talk isn't okay — Holliday may have called her driver "fat" to describe him to her followers, but bringing up her cholesterol is a form of concern trolling. This Uber driver who had presumably never met Holliday before this probably wasn't all that concerned about her health, and had no reason to comment.
Refinery29 has reached out to Uber for comment and will update this story when we hear back.
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