Rapper Dank Demoss (real name Dajua Blanding) is suing Lyft after claiming a driver refused to let her into his car because of her size. The incident happened in Detroit and was captured in a now-viral video she shared on Instagram.
In the clip, the Lyft driver tells Blanding his car is “too small” and insists she wouldn’t fit. When she pushes back, he doubles down, saying, “You need to order a bigger car.” He even oddly adds that his tires are “very tired.”
Visibly upset, Blanding accuses Lyft of size discrimination in her post, writing: “I JUST FEEL LIKE YALL TREAT BIG PPLE LIKE S*** LIKE WE DON’T BELONG HERE.”
Michigan is the only U.S. state with laws protecting against weight discrimination. Blanding says she was hurt by the experience and has hired two attorneys to file a lawsuit.
Her lawyer, Jonathan Marko, compared the incident to other forms of illegal bias, saying, “It would be no different than a driver saying they won’t pick up someone because they’re Black or Christian.”
Lyft responded, saying it “unequivocally condemns all forms of discrimination” and that such behavior goes against its community guidelines.v