A female Uber driver has sparked intense debate on Threads after sharing a late‑night interaction that ended with her refusing to take two male passengers—and their unexpected three‑word response as she drove away.
“I’m a female Uber driver. I use the ‘women riders only’ filter,” the driver, who posts as @justdrive85, from Charleston, South Carolina, wrote. “Sometimes I will get to the pickup and find that a woman ordered an Uber for a man. That happened last night. Actually it was two men.”
The driver said Uber allows women drivers using the preference to cancel these rides without penalty, but deciding what to say in person can be awkward. “I said ‘Sorry, I don’t take men after dark.’ They looked dumbfounded,” she wrote. “I shrugged and said ‘62 million.’”
As she pulled away, she overheard one of the men respond: “Honestly, that’s valid.”
The post quickly went viral, prompting widespread discussion—and backlash—across the platform.
Newsweek reached out to Uber’s press office for comment via email.
What the ‘62 Million’ Meant
As the comments exploded, the driver followed up to clarify what she meant by referencing “62 million.”
“I said 62 million. I didn’t say 62 million men,” the poster wrote. “I was simply referencing…well you obviously know what I’m referencing.”
Her comment pointed to a recent CNN investigation that uncovered an online rape academy.
The report found that a pornography site hosting so‑called “sleep” content—videos depicting women who appear unconscious—received around 62 million visits in a single month, highlighting the scale of the audience engaging with such material.
“If you don’t know what I’m referencing, I am not Google,” the poster added. “Threads is not Google. But Google is free.”
Uber’s Women‑Only Preference
Uber rolled out its Women Preferences feature nationwide in the U.S. earlier this year, allowing female riders to request women drivers, who could opt into receiving only female passengers.
The driver emphasized that the woman who booked the ride likely hadn’t intentionally bypassed the setting.
“No problem,” she wrote. “No, I generally don’t mind when a woman is with men. Usually those men know how to behave around women.”
She also stressed that the feature exists for safety—not discrimination—and encouraged women to use it, particularly late at night or when drinking.
“Please use this feature, ladies,” the poster wrote. “Especially when it’s late, you’ve been drinking, your guard is down, and we all know how looking your best can put a target on your back.”
‘My Nervous System Goes Into Hyperawareness’
In one of the most widely shared parts of the thread, the driver addressed critics who accused her of unfairly judging men.
“It’s not that every man is terrible,” she wrote. “It’s just the moment a man gets into my car, my nervous system goes into hyperawareness. Constantly scanning for threat. Because of experience. Experiences that every woman knows well.”
Many Threads users echoed that feeling.
“This is so true about the nervous system relaxing—and I hadn’t even noticed,” one commenter wrote.
Another added: “Having read this I feel sick being a man. I have two sisters, a wife, a mother, and four nieces and a stepdaughter. You make sure you stay safe.”
Others pointed out risks beyond the ride itself. “The ‘lurking’ isn’t limited to that night either. He now knows where she lives and he can ‘happen to be in the neighborhood’ at any time,” one user wrote.
A Final Word for Critics
The driver also offered practical safety tips for riders—checking license plates, confirming the driver’s name before entering the vehicle, and understanding why severely intoxicated passengers may face cancellations.
And for men attacking her in the comments?
“If I won’t let men into my car,” the poster wrote, “what makes you think I’d let you into my head?”
As one Threads user summed it up: “I’m not mad about blanket statements because I know I’m not the problem. Guys, if you’re mad, ask yourself why.”
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