A plus-sized rapper is suing Lyft after a driver cancelled because of her size.
Dank Demoss, a 36-year-old from Detroit whose real name Dajua Blanding, filmed her interaction with a driver who refused to let her into his car.
‘I’ve got no space, my car is small’, the driver said through his window.
‘I can fit in this car’, Blanding replied, insisting she’s been in smaller vehicles. In December she claimed she had lost 18kg after previously saying she weight 180kg.
The driver, worried the weight would burst his tyres, explained: ‘Believe me, you can’t. Believe me. I’m sorry. I’m going to cancel it, you’re not going to be charged. You need to order a bigger car.’
Despite not being charged, Blanding claimed it was discrimination and said it hurt her feelings.
Sharing the clip on Instagram, she wrote: ‘AM I WRONG? Lyft what have you all got to say about this driver (who) discriminated against me? I just feel like you all treat big people like s***. Like we don’t belong here.’
Now the rapper has decided to sue Lyft, a ride-hailing service.
Michigan is currently the only US state where weight discrimination is illegal.
Blanding’s lawyer Jon Marko told Fox2: ‘It would be no different than a driver pulling up and saying “I don’t want to have Black people in my car” or “I don’t want to have Christians in my car or Muslims in my car”. Under the law, it’s the same.’
Her other attorney Zach Runyan added: ‘Runyan added: ‘Refusing someone transportation based on their weight is not only illegal, but dangerous.
‘Imagine the consequences if Ms. Blanding were unable to seek shelter after the driver left her stranded. This could have ended even worse than it did.’
In a statement, Lyft said: ‘Lyft unequivocally condemns all forms of discrimination—we believe in a community where everyone is treated with equal respect and mutual kindness.
‘Our community guidelines and terms of service explicitly prohibit harassment or discrimination.’
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