Comedian Rosie Jones refused a ride by Uber driver who mistook her cerebral palsy for being drunk

Rosie shared a screenshot from the app, which said she was ‘not wearing a mask’ (Picture: Getty / Rex)

Rosie Jones – who has cerebral palsy – shared her experience of being ‘left in the road’ late at night by an Uber driver who mistook her disability for being drunk. 

The comedian, 31, has recently been seen on-screen in Casualty and navigating her way around the country for Channel 4, in Trip Hazard: My Great British Adventure.

She’s also given the UK Government a grilling while appearing on Question Time and has thousands of followers online.

However, she used her online platform to share an upsetting experience, which happened whilst she was trying to make her way home earlier this week. 

Rosie claimed she was refused a ride from an Uber driver, with the app notifying her this was because she was not wearing a face mask.

She shared a screenshot via her Twitter account which read: ‘Your driver said you were not wearing a face covering or a mask.’

Rosie has cerebral palsy and cleverly incorporates it into her comedy (Picture: Instagram/ josierones)

Rosie wrote in response: ‘Just received this message from @Uber. I was wearing a mask and the driver drove away. 

‘I had a hand on the door and I was left in the road. He thought I was drunk. I wasn’t. I have cerebral palsy.’

She went on to add: ‘Please make sure your drivers know the difference between the two. This is ableism.’

The Last Leg star was quickly flooded with support by fans in the comments, who demanded the company apologised. 

One wrote: ‘Rosie this is horrible, I’m sorry this happened. @Uber, apologise and educate your drivers!’

A follower added: ‘I’ve a stammer and I’ve had drivers assume I’m drunk as I stammer on my address @stammer has various versions of this story. It’s sadly uncommon.’

Rosie said she was ‘left in the road’ by her driver who cancelled on her (Picture: BBC)

‘@Uber where is the apology for leaving a disabled person stranded at midnight?’ asked a user.

Another commented: ‘That’s awful! Hope you got/manage to get, home safely.’

She received a response from Uber in the comments, asking her to quickly get in touch to follow up on the situation. 

According to The Independent, the company will be ‘carrying a full investigation’ into the incident.

More: Channel 4

They told the publication in a statement: ‘Everybody should feel safe and welcome when riding with Uber. The experience Rosie described is totally unacceptable and we offer our deepest apologies.

‘As our Community Guidelines state, we have zero tolerance for any discrimination based on disability and we’ll be contacting the driver involved and carrying out a full investigation.’

Metro.co.uk has reached out to Uber for comment.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : It’s A Sin, one year on: ‘How Russell T. Davies’ drama changed our lives’

MORE : Line of Duty star Vicky McClure plays coy as she addresses savage Boris Johnson interrogation video