A Detroit rapper is suing Lyft after a driver allegedly denied her a ride due to her size. Dajua Blanding, known as Dank Demoss, had requested a ride to a Detroit Lions watch party earlier this month, but when the driver arrived, he refused to take her, citing concerns about her weight. The incident was recorded by Blanding.
At first, the driver claimed she wouldn’t fit in his sedan. When she insisted she could, he responded, “Believe me, you can’t.”
He then mentioned concerns about his tires handling her weight, apologized, and suggested she order an Uber XL instead. He also assured her she would be refunded for the canceled ride. Blanding, however, said she has fit into smaller cars before and was hurt by the rejection.
She has since hired attorneys Jonathan Marko and Zach Runyan to sue Lyft for discrimination. Marko argues that weight is a protected characteristic under Michigan law and equates the driver’s actions to discrimination based on race or religion.
While Lyft drivers are allowed to reject passengers for security concerns, Marko insists they cannot do so based on protected characteristics.
Lyft responded with a statement condemning all forms of discrimination and emphasizing its community guidelines, which prohibit harassment or bias. The company has now been served with the lawsuit, and the case is moving forward.
Last year, the Department of Justice announced that Lyft would pay $2.1 million in civil penalties for misleading drivers about their potential earnings.
“In a civil complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the government alleges that, as early as 2021, Lyft made false and misleading claims in its advertising and marketing regarding potential earnings and incentives to be earned by drivers who signed up to drive for Lyft. Lyft allegedly continued these practices even after it received a Notice of Penalty Offenses in October 2021 that placed the company on notice that false and misleading earnings claims were unlawful,” the DOJ wrote in a press release.
“The complaint also further alleges that Lyft also tried to induce drivers to offer more rides by promoting ‘earnings guarantees,’ which guaranteed that drivers would be paid a set amount if they completed a specific number of rides in a certain time,” the press release continued.