A woman in Austin, Texas, recorded a confrontation with a man she accused of falsely claiming to be her Uber driver in an attempt to approach her. The incident, which she later shared on TikTok, shows the woman questioning the man’s intentions as he walks away from her on a nighttime sidewalk. The video has sparked a conversation online about women’s safety.
The video begins with the woman recording a man walking away from her. Above him, a sign for “poeta restaurant & rooftop bar” is visible. The woman initiates the interaction by saying, “Hey, I thought you were my Uber.” The man turns his head back, smiling, and replies, “I, I logged out. I’m fine.” He continues walking as the woman presses him, asking, “Yeah, so where’s the car? I thought you were my Uber.” The man turns to face her again and says, “My car right there, if you want to know.”
The woman then questions his motives, asking, “Where is it? So you’re not driving? Why would you say that? Why would you say, hey, I’m your Uber driver, and then not be my Uber driver?” The man’s smile fades, and he appears slightly uncomfortable. The woman asks, “Were you trying to…” and the man interjects, “break the ice? Yeah, I like your outfit.” A white cowboy hat briefly enters the frame, obscuring the man’s face.
Woman accuses man of using a ruse to approach her
As the man continues walking away, the woman accuses him, saying, “Oh yeah, so you’re just a weirdo trying to pick up girls when they’re drunk, not realizing that not everybody is drunk, right?” The man looks back at her with a slight smile, then turns his head forward again. He tells her, “You can go ahead, you can go ahead.” The woman responds, “No, I get that. But now you’re on video.”
The woman continues, “Now you’re on video, you’re gonna be famous because you’re a creep.” The man smiles and asks, “Famous? How many followers you have?” The woman replies, “Probably none, but this is gonna go viral. Austin, Texas, creepy men trying to pick up women saying they’re Uber drivers because they’re thinking you’re drunk.” The man walks further down the sidewalk, occasionally looking back and smiling, as the woman concludes, “Welcome to stardom with your shitty a– outfit.”
The video ends with the man walking away into the distance. In the video’s caption, the woman wrote that she was standing outside Mothers Ruin in ATX waiting for a friend when the man approached her. She stated, “little did he know that I was sober enough to know this was a ruse.” The caption added, “Once my friend joined I decided to help him become FAMOUS. Women be careful of creepy men.”
Viewers comment on the encounter and share similar concerns
The video prompted numerous comments from viewers. One person wrote, “Omg !!! He followed me home after my movie on 2nd street and it was so so scary !!!!” Another comment stated, “Him trying to insult you for not being kidnappable is crazy. Very common man behavior.” A third viewer commented, “so he attempted to lure woman into his car… so kidnapping intoxicated woman, file that police report.”
Several comments referenced safety advice. One quoted the podcast “Crime Junkie,” writing, ““Be weird. Be rude. Stay alive.”” Another commenter suggested, “If you post this on the austin subreddit, they WILL find this man. I’m so sorry this happened and you were able to stay safe!!! It can feel scary to get loud and draw attention, but it really does work.” Multiple viewers, including one who wrote “Make a police report,” advised the woman to contact authorities. The advice to use social media for exposure is not unique to this case, as a mom once asked the internet to find a woman who pretended to be a security guard at Dave & Buster’s.
The woman who posted the video did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment. The identity of the man in the video has not been publicly confirmed. Austin police have not publicly commented on the specific incident shown in the video.
