While out with his teenage son, longtime “Today” show weatherman Al Roker was attempting to hail a taxi cab when he was supposedly snubbed. On Saturday night, he sent out a series of tweets voicing his outrage and claimed that he was ignored by the cabbie because he is Black.
“Filed a complaint today after getting passed up again by a NYC Yellow cab. Cabbie picked up a white guy a block away. Wonder why Uber wins?” Roker wrote on his Twitter page.
“This happens to folks of color every day. And while most cabbies do their job, there are those ignorant, racist ones who hurt the others,” the 61-year-old continued. “What really hurts, my 13 yr. old boy was with me and asked why the cabbie passed us. I said, ‘Nick, ignorant people make dumb choices.’”
Taxi and Limousine Commission chair Meera Joshi released a statement to NY Daily News assuring that the company will investigate Roker’s case.
“Service refusal goes to the core of the taxi industry’s social contract with the riding public and it will not be tolerated,” she said. “We’re grateful that Mr. Roker took the time to file a complaint, and I can assure him that we will investigate this thoroughly and take every appropriate action.”
