‘Uber Black’ Driver Fawzi Kamel Yells At CEO Kalanick: ‘I Lost $97,000!’ [Video]
The below video shows Uber driver Fawzi Kamel arguing with Uber’s embattled CEO, Travis Kalanick, with Fawzi telling the head of Uber that he lost $97,000 and went bankrupt because of Travis. The video has received more than one million views and is currently No. 1 on Youtube’ Trending list of viral videos.
According to the Daily Mail, the recorded video of the argument with the head of Uber went viral after Fawzi recorded the interaction on Super Bowl Sunday in San Francisco. Kamel complained that because of all of Travis’ changes to the payment system for Uber drivers, people were not viewing Kalanick in a trustworthy manner anymore.
Travis admitted that he would be reducing the number of Uber Black cars over the next six months, and told Fawzi that Uber was forced to drop prices to compete in the marketplace. Travis admitted that Uber Black started high end, but was forced to go low end. Fawzi wasn’t buying it and expressed his frustration to Kalanick.
“We could go higher and more expensive. I lost $97,000 because of you!”
Kamel complained that although Uber calls their drivers “partners,” he felt Uber didn’t care if Uber drivers earn less than minimum wage. In the wake of the video going viral, Travis has apologized and admitted he needs leadership help. Kalanick’s apology isn’t enough for Kamel, who is giving more information to publications about why he decided to confront the CEO of Uber.
Kalanick said it was time for him to grow up as a CEO, after the video of Kamel complaining to the CEO about rate changes that have had a negative effect on his income.
“You keep changing every day… You changed the whole business. We started with $20 — how much is the mile now? $2.75?”
Kalanick spoke out about the viral video with the 37-year-old Kamel.
Uber CEO Says He's Seeking "Leadership Help" After Video Shows Him Yelling At Driverhttps://t.co/zaTRIOjSEs pic.twitter.com/PkGUF152Bm
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) March 1, 2017
Kalanick cursed at Kamel during certain portions of the video, calling Kamel’s accusations ‘bulls***,’ and claiming that Fawzi didn’t understand where Travis was coming from. The viral video with Kalanick and two unknown women began with the threesome giggling about Travis being broken out of his shell.
Then the argument happened and went viral, forcing Kalanick to apologize and say he was ashamed. Uber Black drivers were undercut by Uber X and Uber Select products, claimed Fawzi, which left Uber Black drivers twisting in the wind with their investments. Kamel called the Uber Black drivers the real original investors in the company — and said that while angel investors were able to turn their initial $20,000 venture capital investments into millions, the original Uber Black car drivers were left with nothing.
Kamel was blamed by the Uber CEO, who said in the viral video that people “don’t like to take responsibility for their own s***.”
The incident represents the latest bump in the road for Uber, which has recently been in the news in a negative way because of a former Uber employee’s viral blog post about alleged sexual harassment, as reported by Bloomberg.
The following apology to Kamel and the Uber staff was issued by Travis.
“To say that I am ashamed is an extreme understatement. My job as your leader is to lead…and that starts with behaving in a way that makes us all proud. That is not what I did, and it cannot be explained away. It’s clear this video is a reflection of me—and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it. I want to profoundly apologize to Fawzi, as well as the driver and rider community, and to the Uber team.”
As seen in the top photos above, Travis arrived in Beverly Hills, California, at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Sunday, February 26.
[Featured Image by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Images]
