Woman caught stealing from Uber driver in viral video complains she is being harassed
A woman shown on video snatching $5 from a tip jar in an Uber car says she has been harassed since it went viral.
Gabrielle Canales suffered a backlash on social media after the recording from the driver’s dashcam showed her reach in to the container at his side and grab a bunch of single dollar bills.
Ms Canales claimed she had paid back Mohammed H Bhuiyan before the footage emerged and therefore did not need the barrage of criticism to “teach me a lesson”.
The video shows Ms Canales, 18, grab Mr Bhuiyan’s tips moments before she jumps out of the car at the end of a trip with two friends at an unnamed location in New York City.
It has since racked up almost 1.5millions views, and sparked a tirade of hatred aimed at her on social media on platforms including Instagram and Twitter where she has a high-profile.
Much of the anger was directed at Ms Canales, who is from Long Island, through the comments section of photos she has posted on her Instagram account.
Cyliiaaaa wrote: “Such an ugly, disgusting human being. nice job turning off the captions so you'd stop getting hate.”
Tanktopsandglitter said: “The box troll stole the tips from the Uber driver.”
Spoookyfaith commented: “Honestly she probably just wanted her 15 minutes of fame and she will be an ugly person for the rest of her life.”
Ms Canales, under her username Almightygabita, replied: “You really think I want to be known for taking $5 you asshole? Nobody plans to be known for stupid shit like this.”
But hi12167 responded: “And obviously no one plans for this, which is why you shouldn’t really have done it in the first place.”
Ms Canales has since been more apologetic over stealing Mr Bhuiyan tips, telling BuzzFeed News: “I understand I’m completely wrong and I’m not denying it.
"Everything you do in life will have a consequence, no matter how old it is," she said.
"I hope people understand that this isn’t my character and it was just a bad choice I made over the summer. It was me being childish."
“To the Uber driver, my sincere apologies," she added.
But Ms Canales said the backlash on social media was unnecessary.
“The lesson was learned that same day. That’s why the gentleman was paid back,” she said. The Independent could not verify if the cash had been returned.
Uber has reportedly confirmed that tips were taken from their driver in the incident caught on camera. It said her account on the app had since been deactivated.
The Independent has contacted both Uber and Ms Canales for comment, but neither immediately responded.
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