Adelaide radio star Ali Clarke was brought to tears on Friday when she had a shocking encounter with a taxi driver after a night out.
The former Mix 102.3 breakfast show host, 48, attempted to return home after attending the Woman of the Year awards when she was subjected to vile comments.
Clarke claimed a driver from 13CABS refused to drive her anywhere and became verbally abusive, saying her ‘p***y smells’—he has since been axed from his job.
‘Everybody knows me that I don’t do this, but what has just happened has been horrible,’ Clarke tearfully said in a video shared to Instagram.
‘I’ve just been with friends and needed to get home by myself—[my] husband came home earlier.’
Clarke went on to say she got into a waiting taxi and asked to be taken home, but the driver refused, telling her he had been waiting for 40 minutes.
Adelaide radio star Ali Clarke, 48, was brought to tears on Friday when she had a shocking encounter with a taxi driver after a night out
The media personality assumed the driver was waiting on a larger fare, as she was only travelling a short distance, so she offered to pay him more.
However, the driver continued to refuse and told Clarke to get out of his car.
‘I said, “But I just want to get home.” He said [I] need to get out, but… there’s no-one on the other side of the street,’ she recalled.
‘I said, “Mate, you’ve got to take me home, don’t you?”‘
Clarke said the driver then became verbally aggressive and began to insult her, saying: ‘You need to get out. Your p***y smells.’
Breaking down in tears as she recounted the incident, Clarke said: ‘I got out and I was trying to be brave. I’m 48-years-of-age and I have children and I am tough.’
But as Clarke exited the vehicle to remove herself from the situation, the driver rolled down his window to repeat the slur at her.
‘What are we supposed to do with that? I’m pretty tough, but that was bad. I thought we were better than that,’ she said.
The former Mix 102.3 breakfast show host attempted to return home after attending the Woman of the Year awards when she was subjected to vile comments
Clarke, who left her radio show after her breast cancer diagnosis last year, wrote next to her video: ‘I can honestly say I’ve never felt more alone and exposed as tonight.
‘It was only after I took a photo of him and his number he started getting abusive.
‘This is not OK and I know Melb and Syd have been dealing with non-metre gouging, but this was next level.
‘Thanks to the security who helped me get home. On International Women’s Day I’ve never felt sadder.’
Clarke revealed she has since reached out to 13CABS to rectify the incident.
When Daily Mail Australia reached out to the company for comment, a spokesperson confirmed the driver has been axed over the incident.
‘The driver involved in this incident has been removed from our network,’ they said.
‘We have spoken with Ms Clarke directly and provided video footage of the incident to the South Australian regulator responsible for handling such matters.’
Clarke claimed a driver from 13CABS refused to drive her anywhere and became verbally abusive, saying her ‘p***y smells’—he has since been axed from his job. Pictured with her husband Matthew
‘We do not tolerate any driver behaviour which does not meet our strict standard of conduct,’ they continued.
‘Passenger safety is our highest priority, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of service and professionalism for all our passengers.’
It comes after Clarke announced her shock departure from the Adelaide Mix FM breakfast show in November.
The radio star, who co-hosted Max & Ali in the Morning with Max Burford, shared the news with listeners at the time.
‘This will be my last week on air with Mix 102.3 doing brekky,’ she began.
‘It’s really hard to say now and probably even harder to accept it as well but I was offered the opportunity to continue on and it’s really hard to say no to something like that because I love this.
‘I love nothing more than connecting with people and I love radio so much, and I understand the privilege it is to be invited in to someone’s home or their car or their lives.’
Ali explained the year of 2024 had ‘given her a new perspective’ after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in July.
‘I’ll miss our listeners terribly and can’t thank them enough for their support of not just me, but my family,’ she continued.
‘Man I love radio and will miss this incredibly hardworking local team, but I know they’ll keep bringing the laughs and will go from strength to strength.’
Clarke returned to work in August 2024 less than one month after announcing a heartbreaking breast cancer diagnosis live on air.
She made a surprise return to discuss her recovery before revealing she would be back at work just a few days later.
‘Well what do you reckon now that you are starting to go stir crazy, are you feeling you want to come back to work?’ co-host Burford asked.
‘Tomorrow morning at 6am I will be back on the air,’ Clarke revealed, much to the delight of Burford and her fill-in Hayley Pearson.
Clarke, who is married to Crows AFLW coach Matthew, admitted she was excited to return to work as she was running out of things to do in her downtime.
