A ride-share app driver’s apparent disdain for Taylor Swift unraveled when he assaulted a passenger over a song request.
Bizarre video footage showed Bolt driver, Pablo Leiva attacking César Ayala, 20, with the knob of a blade in Asunción, Paraguay on Thursday.
Leiva noticed he was being recorded by Ayala and appeared to slap Ayala, who shouted at him to stop.
After telling Ayala to get out of the vehicle, Leiva swung at him with the knife’s wooden handle and struck him slightly under the eye.
Ayala responded by kicking Leiva, who got out of car and charged him.
‘You have a knife, you idiot,’ Ayala told the Leiva before the recording stopped.
Ayala revealed on his Instagram account that he was on his way home after attending a friend’s birthday at a local bar when Leiva engaged him in a conversation.
The architecture student revealed he had consumed alcohol and was not in the mood to chat, and asked him to play some of the Grammy Award winner’s hits.
Pablo Leiva was caught on camera attacking a passenger in Asunción, Paraguay last Thursday after he allegedly refused a request to play Taylor Swift’s music
César Ayala (pictured_ explained that he snapped back at Pablo Leiva, a ride-share app driver, after he was told that he was ‘disgusting’ for listening to Taylor Swift’s music and that the pop star singer was a ‘slut’
‘Everything was going well until he started talking to me about what he did and his religious beliefs, making unnecessary and super uncomfortable comments,’ Ayala said. ‘I was very upset and I really wasn’t interested in listening to him.
‘So, I told him, ‘I’m really not in a condition to talk, you better put on some music, I want to listen to Taylor.’ Then he started making comments saying that he didn’t listen to that kind of music, insulting me personally with out-of-place comments.’
Ayala explained that he snapped back at Leivar after he was told that he was ‘disgusting’ for listening to Swift’s music and that the pop star singer was a ‘slut.’
‘Obviously, I didn’t keep quiet and I responded, telling him that he couldn’t talk to me like that, that I was a client of Bolt and that I had the right to play my music,’ Ayala said. ‘In a very arrogant way, the man told me to put my music on the phone and get out of the car, demanding that I pay him for the trip I had already made.’
Ayala said he pulled out one of his two cell phones to record Leiva, who struck him.
Ayala called a friend, who is also a Bolt driver, and was taken to a local police station.
Cops refused to file a report because he did not have a medical diagnosis.
Pablo Leiva (pictured), a driver for the ride-share app Bolt, used the wooden knob of the knife to attack César Ayala during the heated argument. The ride-share app company informed Ayala that they were unable to identify the aggressor because car’s license plates are listed under another person’s name
César Ayala was attacked by a Bolt driver during a ride after leaving a bar in Paraguay last Thursday
Pablo Leiva rushed out of his car while holding a knife after attacking one of his ride-share app passenger
Taylor Swift performs during the opening show of the The Eras Tour in Toronto on November 14, 2024
The video of the assault drew the attention of Paola Leiva, the driver’s daughter, who took to social media to accuse Ayala of criticizing him for being a Christian and attempting to make a move on him.
‘He started to make advances in other ways and the straw that broke the camel’s back was when this boy touched him on the shoulder,’ Paola said. ‘That’s when he exploded, (my father) stopped the car, but the boy didn’t want to get out or pay for the trip.’
She recognizes her father was wrong for striking Ayala with the knife.
‘The aggression is not justifiable. Justice will take charge,’ she said. ‘He was wrong to attack him, he didn’t really want to hit the boy, but he wanted to use the cell phone because the boy didn’t want to get out. He bothered him, he harassed him, my dad wanted him to get out of the car but he didn’t want to get out.’
‘She uses the most basic homophobic argument anyone could ever hear: that because I’m a man from the LGBTQ+ community, I want to mess with every man who crosses my path,’ Ayala wrote on an Instagram Stories post.
‘It’s incredible how she tries to justify herself and her daughter tries to defend the indefensible.’
Ayala contacted Bolt and was told that the company was unable to identify the driver because car’s license plates are under listed under the name of another person.
In a statement, Bolt apologized to Ayala and said it had suspended Leiva’s account
‘We are aware of the incident involving a driver who used the services through the platform, accused of assaulting a passenger,’ the company said. ‘We take these allegations very seriously. Upon learning of the incident, the driver’s account was immediately deactivated.
‘We strongly condemn any form of violence and discrimination. Every person has the right to be treated with respect and dignity, and we are committed to maintaining a safe environment for all,’ Bolt added. ‘We will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the safety of all users.’