Plus-sized rapper Dank Demoss is suing Lyft after one of the rideshare company’s drivers told her she couldn’t fit inside his car.
“You telling me I can’t get in your Lyft because I can’t fit in your car? What makes you think I can’t fit in this car?” Demoss, who also goes by Dajua Blanding, argued in a video exchange she posted to Instagram.
The driver, who is identified in her lawsuit as John Doe, said he was refusing Demoss because his “car is small.”
“You’re really telling me I’m too big to fit in this car? I can fit in this car,” Demoss fired back.
“Believe me you can’t. So, I’m sorry,” the driver of the Mercedes Benz sedan replied. “The car is small in the back.”
Demoss, who was on her way to a Detroit Lions watch party earlier this month, maintained that she could fit, saying that her best friend had a similar vehicle she could squeeze into.
But the driver held fast, telling her she would need to request another car. “To be more specific with you, I have very tired tires … I got no space in the back. I’ve tried before … I’ve been in this situation.”
Doe then said he turns down most overweight riders because they need to request a bigger set of wheels.
Demoss, who weighs close to 500 pounds, documented her encounter on Instagram, titling her video, “This MF said I can’t fit his car so he gotta cancel my ride!”
“AM I WRONG?” she asked her 173,000 followers. Tagging Lyft she asked the company, “What y’all got to say about this driver (discriminating) against me …. I JUST FEEL LIKE Y’ALL TREAT BIG PEOPLE LIKE S— LIKE WE DON’T BELONG HERE.”
Her post generated over 8,000 likes. Lyft said they were “disheartened” by her experience and called the driver’s behaviour “unacceptable.”
Although one person called the operator “lazy and inconsiderate,” many commenters were supportive of the driver for turning her down.
“I understand that this was an embarrassing moment, but also understand that Lyft or Uber does not compensate for car repairs,” one person wrote. “These people are independent drivers trying to make an honest living … No shade to the lady who had to go through this, but this man has a right to protect his property.”
“You know you’re too big for that car,” a second person added. “You’re wrong … let’s be realistic.”
“They have Uber XL for a reason … cut it out,” a third swiped.
Another follower of the drama said she thought Demoss’ claim was “bogus” until she saw photos of the artist.
“I’m sorry but what do you mean ‘what makes you think I can’t fit in this car ‘ … your size ma’am … your size is why he KNOWS and you know too … Everyone isn’t gonna play into the delusion.”
But Demoss, who self-identifies on Instagram as a “PAID PHAT QUEEN,” is certain she could have squeezed herself into the automobile.
“I’ve been in cars smaller than that,” she told FOX 2. “I just want them to know that it hurt my feelings.”
Her attorney John Marko said he knew it was wrong for the motorist to turn her down.
Under the law, refusing someone transportation due to their weight is no different than refusing someone transportation based on their race or religion. Discrimination of any kind should never be tolerated in our society,” Marko told PEOPLE.
“Refusing someone transportation based on their weight is not only illegal, but dangerous.” attorney Zach Runyan added. “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.”
According to the suit, which was obtained by PEOPLE, Demoss “was unable to attend her cousin’s party.”
She is claiming restitution for “stress, humiliation, embarrassment, outrage, mental anguish, fear and mortification, as well as emotional, economic and non-economic damages.”
In response, Lyft it “unequivocally condemns all forms of discrimination.”
“We believe in a community where everyone is treated with equal respect and mutual kindness,” a spokesperson for the rideshare company said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “Our community guidelines and terms of service explicitly prohibit harassment or discrimination.”