Dank Demoss with her lawyers
Credit: Insta/dankdemoss
A Detroit-based rapper was denied cab service by the driver due to her weight. Dajua Blanding aka Dank Demoss shared a video of her interaction with Lyft driver, which is an American company offering ride-hailing services.
Demoss weighs about 220 kg and in the now viral video can be seen telling the driver that she "can fit in the car".
Sharing her experience on TikTok, she said they have "hurt her feelings", and thus she has now filed a lawsuit against them for "discrimination", as per a report by Fox2.
The incident apparently took place last month. Upon seeing Demoss, the driver said he can't give her a ride due to her weight.
Demoss replied saying, "I can ft in this car," to which the driver said, "Believe me, you can't."
The driver advised her to book an Uber XL as his car tyres won't handle the weight and that he would refund for the ride so that she is at no loss, however, Demoss said that she has been in smaller cars than this.
"I just want them to know that it hurt my feelings," she told the publication.
Demoss hired attorneys Jonathan Marko and Zach Runyan and sued the company.
Attorney Marco told the publication that what the driver did was "illegal" and "wrong", stating that "weight is a protected characteristic in Michigan" and that nobody can deny someone a ride based on their weight.
"It would be same as denying someone because of their race or religion - at least under the law," Fox2 quoted him.
Lyft drivers can deny a ride to someone for "security threats", however not based on "protected characteristics," Marco added.
After this incident, Lyft released an official statement.
"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," the statement read, as shared by the publication.
Demoss took to her Instagram account thanking her lawyers, and shared pictures of her meeting.
Her post has garnered over 10k likes and a flurry of comments, many being dissatisfied with her approach to the incident.
"I hope the driver also files a lawsuit, he's the real victim in this," a user commented.
"How you are suing somebody because you was too big to get into their car," commented another.
A third user wrote, "I really hope that guy didn't lose his source of income."
"You got that man fired, shame on you," commented a fourth.