Detroit rapper Dank Demoss is suing the ride-share company Lyft, alleging she wasn’t allowed to enter a car she ordered because of her weight.
Demoss, whose legal name is Dajua Blanding, shared video on Instagram on Jan. 19 that captured an interaction with an alleged Lyft driver who denied her a ride.
“I’m sorry. I got no space. My car is small,” the driver says in the clip.
“I can fit in this car,” Demoss, 29, replies.
“Believe me you can’t. … So I’m sorry. I’m gonna cancel [the ride]; you’re not gonna be charged,” the driver replies.
“So you’re telling me I can’t get in the Lyft because I can’t fit in your car? … So are you really telling me I’m too big to get in your car so I’ve got to order another Lyft?” Demoss says.
The driver responds, “Yeah, you need to order a bigger car.”
He goes on to say an issue with his tires is a reason she can’t ride in the car.
Demoss announced the lawsuit Tuesday on social media, posting videos of herself with her attorneys.
The suit was filed in Wayne County Circuit Court in Michigan against Lyft and the driver, identified as John Doe, for violating Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discriminatory practices based on religion, race, color, age, sex, height, weight and familial status.
According to the complaint, on Jan. 18, Demoss paid for a Lyft ride from her residence in Detroit to a football watch-party at her cousin’s home.
When the driver arrived in a Mercedes-Benz sedan and she tried to get in, the driver locked the doors to his vehicle and tried to drive away, the suit alleges.
He explained that Demoss was “too big” to fit in the back seat and that “his tires were not capable of supporting Plaintiff’s weight,” the complaint says.
He drove off, and Demoss was unable to attend her cousin’s party, it says. As a result, she suffered stress, humiliation, mental anguish and emotional damage, the complaint says.
“Defendant Lyft, through its agents, representatives, and employees, unlawfully discriminated against Plaintiff based on her weight, treated her differently from similarly situated individuals based on weight, and allowed Plaintiff to be subjected to unlawful harassment based on her weight,” the complaint says.
The lawsuit seeks damages covering attorney fees, costs and exemplary damages.
Demoss said that the ordeal has scarred her and that she hopes the suit will change how people treat others.
“I was embarrassed, and I felt some type of way about it,” she told NBC affiliate WDIV of Detroit. “I haven’t really left my house since that.”
Zach Runyan, Demoss' attorney, said in a statement: “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,” he added.
Lyft said in a statement that it “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,” a spokesperson said.
Lyft said that it cannot comment on specific incidents involving pending litigation and that its drivers work as independent contractors.
