Scantily clad woman who stole money from Uber driver's tip jar says she's being harassed
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A scantily clad thief who stole an Uber driver’s tip money said she was harassed after the surveillance video capturing the brazen incident went viral, adding that she repaid the stolen money.
Gabrielle Canales, 18, was caught on surveillance video wearing only a bra as her top and grabbing cash from a tip jar set up on the center console of the vehicle. Canales told BuzzFeed News the incident happened in August and admitted she was “completely wrong” for stealing the money and regretted committing the act.
"I understand I'm completely wrong and I’m not denying it," Canales told BuzzFeed News. "The lesson was learned that same day. That’s why the gentleman was paid back.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Canales said she paid the driver $5, the amount she claimed she took, and provided a receipt as proof. She added she has been mocked since the video went viral last week.
"I didn’t need this video to go viral to teach me a lesson. I learned the lesson that same day. Before the video went viral, the man was paid back,” Canales said. "I apologize on the matter once again.”
She also told BuzzFeed News she has received death threats and was sexually harassed because of the risqué photos she posted on social media.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I’m wrong for taking $5, and according to the world, I need to die," she said. "I understand I’m going to get hate from a lot of people and that’s something I accepted, but I don’t think it’s okay to disrespect me as female."
Uber said in an earlier statement to Fox News: “What’s been shown has no place on our app and the rider’s access to the app has been removed.” The spokesperson provided the same statement on Wednesday when asked about the monetary amount Canales claimed to have paid back the driver.
The driver told the Daily Mail last week the ride-share company sent him a canned response when he reached out to reps via email.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“We understand your frustration with this experience. We’ve attempted to contact the rider by phone and email, but haven’t been able to resolve this issue,” the email read, according to the Daily Mail.
The email continued: “The rider responded to us and advised us that she didn’t steal your cash from the tip jar. If you believe the rider has your cash as captured from your dash cam and is refusing to return it, you may want to initiate a formal investigation via the police."
Fox News' Lucia Suarez Sang contributed to this report.