Kevin Rudd is mistaken for an Uber driver while dropping his daughter off at a restaurant


Kevin Rudd is mistaken for an Uber driver while dropping his daughter off at a restaurant – and his reaction to the drunk group’s blunder is priceless

  • The former prime minister’s daughter Jessica described the situation on Twitter 
  • Ms Rudd said she thought she saw a group of people pile into her father’s car
  • She later realised they thought he was an Uber driver and offered to pay him 

Kevin Rudd has been mistaken for an Uber driver by a group of young revellers during a night out with his family, but he drove them to their destination anyway. 

The former prime minister’s daughter, Jessica, said that the situation unfolded after her father dropped her off at a restaurant for dinner during torrential rain in Noosa, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.  

Four people from Melbourne who had been drinking at the venue since lunchtime thought Mr Rudd’s vehicle was their Uber as the 63-year-old drove slowly down the road looking for a parking spot. 

Pictured: Former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who gave young revellers from Melbourne a lift in Noosa

Pictured: Former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who gave young revellers from Melbourne a lift in Noosa

Mr Rudd's daughter Jessica (pictured together) said she thought she saw a group of people pile into her father's car

Mr Rudd’s daughter Jessica (pictured together) said she thought she saw a group of people pile into her father’s car

Ms Rudd said she was momentarily confused when she glanced back at her dad’s car.

‘I thought I saw some people pile into his car, told myself it wasn’t – must be a similar-looking Uber,’ she wrote on Twitter.

‘It wasn’t. It was Dad’s car.’

Mr Rudd told the group he did not work for the rideshare company, but they asked him for a lift to Hastings Street – the town’s main road – and offered to pay him.

'I thought I saw some people pile into his car, told myself it wasn't - must be a similar-looking Uber,' she wrote on Twitter (pictured)

‘I thought I saw some people pile into his car, told myself it wasn’t – must be a similar-looking Uber,’ she wrote on Twitter (pictured)

Jessica Rudd (pictured) said she glanced back at her dad's car and felt momentarily confused

Jessica Rudd (pictured) said she glanced back at her dad’s car and felt momentarily confused

Instead of explaining to the group that he was Australia’s 26th prime minister and reiterating that he wasn’t an Uber driver, he drove them to their destination.

‘Took them half the ride to discover who their driver was,’ his daughter said. 

Social media users joked about the former PM moonlighting as an Uber driver.

‘That Rudd bloke must be doing it tough – he’s driving a bloody Uber in Noosa,’ one user wrote.  

Another said: ‘Wait for the headline tomorrow… “Kevin Rudd fallen on tough times, is now an Uber driver”.’

‘Not gonna lie – if I got into a car and it was Kev, he’d literally have to drag me out,’ someone else said. 

Pictured: Kevin Rudd with his wife Therese on their 39th wedding anniversary in Noosa

Pictured: Kevin Rudd with his wife Therese on their 39th wedding anniversary in Noosa

On Wednesday morning, Mr Rudd took to Twitter to confirm the situation.

‘Guilty as charged,’ he wrote.  

‘Four young Melburnians getting drenched in a Queensland subtropical downpour at Noosa last night with no Uber in sight.

‘So what’s a man to do? Good kids. I hope they’ve had some fun up here.’

Kevin Rudd was the prime minister from December 2007 to June 2010, and again from June 2013 to September 2013 before he retired from politics.

He and his wife Therese bought a home in Noosa in 2020.

Advertisement

Leave a Reply