It went wrong last Friday, says the well-known Amsterdam drag queen ‘Slet Lana’, who says she was refused twice by an Uber driver. “First when I was on my way to a gig and then on the way back,” she says. “I was completely decked out. When the drivers saw me, they left and my ride was cancelled.”
Canary in the Coal Mine
D66 councilor Jan-Bert Vroege is angry. “Drag queens are the most visible part of the LGBTI community, they are the proverbial canary in the coal mine. The fact that they cannot safely travel our streets and that they depend on taxis is of course already terrible,” says Vroege. “But our taxi market has also been sick for years. Discrimination against LGBTI people but also against Jewish Amsterdammers is commonplace. It is high time that the councilor took this seriously.”
Uber is very disappointed with the complaint. “Discrimination for who you are and how you look is unacceptable and I am very sad that this has happened. Everyone has the right to a safe ride. We have been in contact with the people who made the report and immediately launched an investigation,” said Willem van Limburg Stirum, general manager of Uber. “During the investigation, the driver will be suspended. There is no room for discrimination on the Uber platform and anyone who does not comply with this will be immediately removed from the platform.”
Bang
According to the famous Amsterdam drag queen Jennifer Hopelezz, Slut Lana is not the only victim. There were at least two other cases of drag queens allegedly refused or insulted during the past Pride, Hopelezz said. This newspaper was unable to get in touch with them.
Also during the previous edition, drag queens complained of being refused by taxi drivers. Slut Lana says the incident didn’t bother her. “I feel very bad about it. Every time I go out and use a taxi I am scared.”
