Fri. Nov. 14, Uber’s Senior Vice President, Emil Michael, proposed the company should hire opposition researchers to investigate journalists. Michael’s influence for the suggestion happened after a female journalist denounced the company.

Uber is a company that uses a smartphone app which allows customers to request a ride for a certain destination, and they will receive a driver with a luxury car. The company which is very popular in the San Francisco area, where the headquarters resides, is also available to 45 countries and 200 cities.

The company, although successful, has derived many protests among taxi- cab drivers. They have protested not only for the safety of passengers but the loss of business they received, due to Uber. Taxi driver Barry Korengold told ABC News, “There won’t be any more taxis at San Francisco airport, is that what passengers want?”

After settling the dispute by starting a rewards plan, Michael touched the subject on passenger safety, “Women are far more likely to get assaulted by taxi drivers than Uber drivers.” The comment was made during a dinner at Manhattan’s Waverly Inn on Fri. night. The remarks directed toward the criticism comments made by, Sarah Lacy, editor of PandoDaily. Recently she fired at the company saying, “I don’t know how many more signals we need that the company simply doesn’t respect us or prioritize our safety.” After the remark, there was then an accusation saying Uber was “sexist.”

The conversation at dinner triggered Michael’s suggestion of investigating journalists. After Michael’s comments surfaced the internet, the public reacted, creating a huge controversy for Uber.

In the recent week, Michael sent out a public apology stating:

“The remarks attributed to me at a private dinner — borne out of frustration during an informal debate over what I feel is sensationalistic media coverage of the company I am proud to work for — do not reflect my actual views and have no relation to the company’s views or approach. They were wrong no matter the circumstance and I regret them.”

Nairi Hourdajian, a spokesperson for Uber responded to the public’s outbreak saying, “Any such activity would be clear violations of our privacy and data access policies.”

Though the Uber Company, SVP Michael stated these controversial suggestions, they have been shut down and revoked to any further actions made by the company involving this matter.