A morbidly obese rapper from Detroit has sued Lyft, the ridesharing app, after her driver refused to transport her, telling her she was too big for his Mercedes Benz.
Rapper Sues Lyft After Driver Tells Her She Was Too Big To Step Into His Mercedes
Dajua Blanding, known as Dank Demoss, likes to call herself a BBW (“big beautiful woman”). She’s a foul-mouthed rapper who has embraced her dangerous obesity and developed a brand out of it.
She called a Lyft but when the driver appeared and noticed how large she was, he refused to let her in, telling her she would not fit.
Blanding: Yes, I can!
Driver: Believe me, you can’t
The driver explained that his low-profile tires could not handle her weight…he said he would cancel the ride so she would not be charged and recommended that she order a Lyft XL (“a larger vehicle that can fit up to six passengers”).
Blanding rued, “I’ve been in cars smaller than that. I just want them to know it hurt my feelings.”
But hurt feelings are not protected by law. However, her weight may be…
Her attorney has filed a lawsuit against Lyft, claiming compensation for:
- stress
- mental anguish
- attorneys fees
- damages
The proposed damages stem from violating Michigan’s 1976 Elliott-Larson Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of “religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status.” (restrictions against height and weight were added in 2009).
Here’s the thing…as absurd as it may sound, I read over Michigan’s Civil Rights Act and I don’t see any exceptions for public safety in this context…which strikes me as a huge oversight. Religious institutions, some private clubs, are exempt. There are also “bona fide occupational qualification” (BFOQ) exemptions, like a police officer needing to be under a certain age or meet certain height and weight standards.
But nothing for Lyft…and that creates an unsavory situation in which Blanding could prevail.
Lyft, for its part, offered only a vague statement on discrimination.
“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.”
A stupid statement, I should add.
Our every decision is an act of discrimination. Life is about discriminating between the choices we have. Some discrimination is unlawful, but we all discriminate each and every day. All day long…
And then there’s the issue of what the law was meant to guard against versus its textual bounds. I thought this comment from her Instagram page from another woman of size was quite reasonable:
Most drivers, would’ve canceled the ride and left her standing out there. At least he was honest even though she’s in denial. People have gotten so complacent with sugar coating things that, it’s almost a crime when you tell the truth. Then, we immediately say, “it’s discrimination, it’s racism, it’s, prejudice, it’s this and that”.
No Queen, it’s your reality standing in your face because you’re constantly running from it. The driver said nothing wrong and he was respectful the entire time. He never once called her out of her name, called her fat, or addressed her issue negatively. He simply gave her a suggestion that was plausible. He told the truth. The only reason she is causing a scene is because 1, her self-esteem was hurt, so the only revenge she could get would be to ruin this man’s life using social media. 2, she has the platform/fans, which is a pacifier to help make her feel better.
Now, of course, I am not here to bash or make this Queen feel worse. I am also a plus size woman. Not proud of it but it is reality. However, you cannot be offended or upset when reality hit and it hurts.
But the law may say otherwise. If Lyft doesn’t settle, Blanding could win in court…either way, I think she wins…and that’s an indictment on Michigan law.
image: @dankdemoss / Instagram
Not of lot of logic in your article is there. So you’re telling me you think that if the driver showed up and there were three guys of average build weighing 180 each he would have told them his tires couldn’t handle it? I have a feeling that if there’s a lawsuit they will be records that show he’s transported more pounds than that overall.
And sounds like he turned her down without even allowing her an attempt to get in. If she actually didn’t fit that would be one thing but the quickness of his refusal to try is what’s going to cause them to lose this one.
I disagree. There’s a huge difference between the volume and weight distribution of one person versus three.
If placing her in the backseat would cause the car to drag (and based on my own car, this is very likely), it’s not something I would ever want to even test.
But as I said, Lyft loses under the Michigan law.
You should make a post about the trump administration mass email to air traffic controllers urging them to take a buyout AFTER the plane crash the other day.
Considering the current shortage, this should frighten everyone that flies.
Those 3 men represent equally distributed weight, not the one woman. Besides, when one is that heavy, it becomes difficult for the average person to gauge weight. Is she 554 lbs? Or 750 lbs? Or 950 lbs? In contrast, an average person could probably guess Matthew’s weight +/- 50 lbs. With her, she might be 750 lbs +/- 300 lbs. If so, there is a chance that she exceeds the vehicle’s maximum load capacity, set with oversight by the federal government, not to mention not being evenly distributed weight.
if three men weights 180 lbs apiece got into the backseat, the weight would be evenly distributed. The issue here is the way will be on one side of the vehicle for her. She will not be able to fit in any seatbelt in my opinion that’s a safety issue. Michigan has that pull you over and give you a ticket seat belt lol also. On top of that she will be stuffed back there and it will not be safe for her. She knew she should’ve ordered a bigger vehicle. That’s why Uber has bigger vehicles.
And if she got stuck, who pays for the extraction and lost time. Your argument is that hollow it will end in YOUR extinction.
The maximum load for a Mercedes-Benz GLA is 1100 lbs. using the stock tires, inflated to proper air pressure. If the driver and equipment in the car weigh 300 lbs. that leave 800 lbs. of evenly distributed weight. A normal person should not be expected to be an expert to gauge weight.
That is so gross Matthew. If there is one instance of censorship I fully support, it is banishing images of that disgusting pig-whale from the internet forever.
I have to say I am on board with Chi Except one thing. Pig and whales are natural like that. This fat blob is not..t. Thinking who to sue for emotional damage of seeing that picture.
The lyft driver should have driven that Big B******y Whale straight to Younan Nowzaraden’s office
I have lots of questions about hygiene looking at that.
Sheesh, look at her. Yuck. Dress for your shape, woman. You look ridiculous.
I read the text of ELLIOTT-LARSEN CIVIL RIGHTS ACT Act 453 of 1976 and the scope of protected rights under the statute appears to be “…employment, housing and other real estate, and the full and equal utilization of public accommodations, public service, and educational facilities…” which somewhat narrows the areas where discrimination can be alleged. The question here is whether she can successfully argue that a subcontractor using his personal vehicle to drive for Lyft is a public service within the legislature’s intended reading of this law and whether having concerns about the ability to safely transport a large and heavy occupant is discrimination rather than a legitimate reason to recommend a larger vehicle to a prospective customer. I’m assuming if Ms. Blanding applied for a job as a power lineman her weight would almost certainly prevent her from being able to perform the job duties at which point it’s not employment discrimination but a question of whether the burden of accommodating her weight is reasonable in the context a highly dangerous occupation where it would substantially impair her performance. If I were an attorney I would love to fight this out it court. It looks like a really fun lawsuit. I hope Lyft doesn’t settle so some really awesome land mark legal decisions can come out of this.
You’re quite right that this will come down to how “public accommodation” is defined. The ADA considers private entities to be a type of “public accommodation” if they are “primarily engaged in the business of transporting people.” I have not looked up MI case law. Of course, Lyft sees the matter differently and has argued that it does not provide public accommodation. We’ll see…
I’m not a lawyer, but I play one in the comments section.
It’s my understanding that if reasonable accommodations are offered, there shouldn’t be the basis of a lawsuit although that can get persnickety as well: The driver didn’t just drive off but told her to get an XL. When airlines accommodate overweight passengers, they sometimes allow them to buy another seat or, in some cases, provide them with an extra seat at no charge (although this is rare?)
And that’s the main claim, for me as a juror, that might stick: That by law Uber should upgrade her to XL for free.
Another sticking point is lack of training: Uber fired the driver who was acting both courteously while balancing safety concerns: Not only could her weight damage the vehicle, but could also cause a loss of control and an accident. Presumably, Uber corporate HQ has many comfortable executives and lawyers in offices sitting around all day who could have addressed this precise scenario sooner but instead they cut this guy loose. They should have provided some guidance for the situation as well as requests in their app that people not try to squeeze into normal Ubers like clown cars. By firing the driver, they tacitly admitted they thought he did something wrong. That’s what happens when golfing corporate executives don’t think things through.
For the record, when I fly my family to the beach for a week along with 4 bags of beach stuff, I always request an XL because I know we’re going to cram in . It’s simply common courtesy.
If I’m sitting on a jury (as I have 4 times), I’m thinking that damages are limited in this case. Her easily hurt feelings are on her, she didn’t give Uber a chance to make it right with perhaps a free ride, and the most she’s really out is the 5 bucks or so more for the UberXL. Her lawyering up is all on her and if I’m on the jury, I’m awarding her $10 and I would sit in the jury room an extra week if I had to.
Speaking of that, there’s been many cases that have come up in the past year I’d like an update on if Matt has heard anything. Whatever happened with the lawsuit happy family that sued American for the peeping tom FA who TRIED to photograph their minor daughter in the bathroom? Or the (I think?) Muslim woman who claimed that a flight crew was rude to her and refused to let her use the bathroom? These cases make headlines and then are forgotten but then I’m left unsatisfied.
Whom do I sue for that?
Concerning that AA lawsuit, I’ll have to check the docket but these sorts of civil cases, especially when a jury is requested, can take 1.5-2 years to come before the court.
USA is so stupid. I wish to move to AU or NZ, parsed with jaunts to BKK. Honestly this sized woman is disgusting to me. To see the way that animals are treated for our consumption, and let this beast of a woman exist. I just hate humans sometimes, im sorry to say. So terrible.
LOL – it really is
Lol it’s not much better in Australia or New Zealand these days. The woke virus has spread to the rest of the anglosphere as well and it’s even worse unless you’re comparing it to the West Coast states and the like.
Matt, if you care about democracy and having an apolitical workforce that can work for many administrations, you need to speak out in support of federal government career workers. Trump is gutting them and trying to replace them with loyalist and sycophants.
Yes, it’s disgusting. I’ll see what I can do.
I’m a hardworking government bureaucrat (really) and my job is an essential Constitutional role.
I’m meeting with my congressional representative’s legislative director next week to discuss my experience with the H-1b program that replaces American STEM workers and professionals with (supposedly) cheaper workers, mostly from India, who often have false credentials in critical roles. It wouldn’t be such a big deal to tell government workers to go out in the private sector if the private sector hadn’t become a wasteland where top STEM graduates are unable to find work while the Elon Musk cries for more H-1bs. About 40 years ago, many government workers left for the private sector to earn more, actually.
One of Trump’s supporters, Steven Smith CEO of AccuWeather, made his fortune from making slight improvements to NOAA weather reports and selling them to broadcasters and farmers. I go to NOAA for weather reports, not accuweather.
Although there is some fat in the government agencies, it’s largely in the HR/EOE departments and some workers who are not cutting it but that’s the case, well, in private industry. Half of the H-1bs are there solely because of bribes and their cousin in a hiring position probably also even at Tesla and SpaceX but Elon doesn’t mind because he pays Americans half as much by threatening to replace them. I don’t think they really are profiting more. Microsoft made plenty of money before the H-1b program.
Hopefully, Trump does not fire you…
Also, I asked in another thread, but how is your father in law doing?
Thanks for asking! I possibly didn’t catch it because it was an old thread and I don’t get notices.
He’s 90 years old and as a former gymnast, is in better shape than me. He lives in a suburb of Odessa and life is “normal” for him. We intend for him to visit again this summer for our annual beach trip where he’ll trek by train to Krakow and fly to us from there.
Thanks for your well wishes regarding my career.
In IT, I’ve been laid off at least 6 times in my career and collected about 4 years of unemployment and severance and took some of that time to recharge including a year with my newborn daughter. In early times it was due to the instability of the industry but later, as I said, to H-1b replacement.
Like my father-in-law who claims to have risked getting shot “stealing” food from a farm during Stalinist times, I’m accustomed to uncertainty and live a frugal lifestyle with some small creature comforts such as going to the spa, reading, and Slavic food.
I got a 5/5 rating for the past 3 years and proud of the Constitutional mandated work I perform for the American public. I protect the integrity and confidentiality of American survey and taxpayer data as well as empower statisticians to generate invaluable publicly disseminated data.
Um. I have cows that weigh less. We use a stock trailer to move them.
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Obesity is both a physical and mental illness, as this woman so evidently proves.
She should have ordered a forklift, not a Lyft.
ForkLyft…I like it.
The saddest part is that she’s probably surrounded sycophantic supporters who’re telling her ‘yaaaaas kween you are the beeeest fight them girl they dun you wrong!”. The lawyers should know better too, although most of them will do anything for a buck and some media coverage, no matter how nasty, sleazy, or obviously opportunistic it is.
She should have requested a U-Haul truck not a Lyft.
Just a thought.
Is she able to lock the seatbelt all by herself ? If not, does Lyft Contract of Carriage in MI makes it mandatory for a passenger to be able to lock it’s seatbelt without assistance.
I think this could be a way for Lyft to win this one.
While this young lady does have much extra weight, but could be several factors in addition too many bad calories. One would have to know her diet to determine if it is all fat. Her misshapen legs also might be lymphedema/edema (fluid) issues. Many women can have these issues of tremendous extra fluid. It is a tough one to deal with for individuals. Here’s hoping she gets help because it won’t do her any good to earn her rapper money if she has a short life span.
I never quite understand these discrimination suits. He didn’t discriminate against her based on her weight, he denied her a ride simply because he claimed she wouldn’t fit. If a rider weighed 1000lbs and physically did not fit in the car and the driver denied them a ride, would that also be discrimination? I’m jut confused with how these laws work.
I feel like the most common analogy to draw here is if she was in a motorized wheelchair and this same driver arrived. Obviously the vehicle could not accommodate someone in a motorized wheelchair and therefore a specialized vehicle to accommodate the passenger would be needed. If this story was instead that the passenger was refused by ALL Lyft options, that would be a problem. A solution was offered by the contractor (or company, depending on how you want to look at it) and the passenger/customer refused.
The air transportation example is quite relevant. If you cannot fit in an economy seat, you have to buy a second one, or pay for a larger seat (i.e. first class). The airline is obligated to provide you with a larger seatbelt and obviously it will cost the airline more in fuel to transport a passenger that is 500+lbs, but if a passenger can’t fit within the confines of the allocated space, they must pay up.
It is a felony to install or use a device to observe, photograph, record sounds or images, or eavesdrop on a person in a private place where one may reasonably expect to be safe from surveillance or intrusion without the person’s consent. Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.539d.
As “Tweety Bird” would say, “Doodness dwacioous”. That is a heifer if I ever saw one! Even if she fit in the car, if there was an accident caused by the driver or anyone else, car fire…whatever, this porker…wait…I said heifer, wouldn’t be able to buckle the seat belt NOR be able to get out of the vehicle in a hurry. I agree with the author… call a “forkLyft”. As the comedian Jim Gaffigan would say, “Deep pockets”
By the way, is her head on backwards or her butt on backwards? Hard to tell
Michigan State has a buckle law for the safety of drivers and passengers. Her size alone, wouldn’t allow her to properly secure the rear passenger safety belt, which would put her at serious risk of injury or even the possibility of death in an auto collision. The driver was concerned about the overall safety, but probably didn’t know how to state his message without truly offending the potential customer. Tire weight limits based on the air pressure are actually located on the driver door. He could of have lowered the pressured tires based on weather or driving conditions, which then the maximum load for the vehicle would be prohibited for safety.
She should already know to order an XL because of her weight.. Why would a driver not want to protect his car and shocks..?? SHe is wrong as it Michigan law…
To my understanding this beautiful young lady has had prior issues with transportation, therefore she should have request a larger vehicle to accommodate her size. She may be obese due to health issues or poor diet, whatever the case I’m sure she’s intelligent to know for her own comfort and safety the Lyft car was to small. I think she’s pursuing a law suit to further her career as a rapper. I was over weight but did something about it when I couldn’t fit on the rides at amusement parks . Just saying people should not discriminate against anyone but you have opinions you’re not a victim.
I am a professional sniper. You would need a “wild game cartridge” to penetrate the fat to a vital organ. However she will likely not make it much longer as that is TERMINAL OBESITY. Mental Issues no doubt. A shame she can’t get help.
You seem like an out of touch, privileged white man, Matthew. Let me explain why.
“he was respectful the entire time.”
Many abusers of women and children act cordial and polite in public in order to appear friendly and not like what they are behind closed doors – abusers. A friendly demeanor doesn’t mean [expletive deleted], frankly. Who cares how someone appears outwardly. Their actions are what speak for them, and his were discriminatory. Weight distribution on a modern 2025 era car can handle her weight just fine. This bs in the comments about how three 180lb men is different than one 540lb woman is ridiculous. This isn’t the 60s. Times have changed, vehicles are stronger and safer. Get with the times.
Second, there are many medications that cause weight gain and excessive appetite. She may have a medical condition that makes her gain weight.
Third:
“A stupid statement, I should add.”
Why? Because your feelings are hurt that a big woman is standing up for herself? I can assure you that if you were discriminated against, you would 100% feel different. But you have never felt that way before. You have never been discriminated against. Your words prove it. You have never faced a significant hardship that women or poc have faced.
This just seems like an opinion piece made to make yourself feel better about your [expletive deleted] existence, especially telling when you claim she has a pacifier/crutch such as social media followings when here you are doing the exact same thing. All these yes men in the comments patting you on the back, telling you yes daddy you’re so right. You’re not. You’re a hypocrite.
Slimy white men are the scourge of this planet, and you’re no exception. May your genitals burn with a thousand STDs. But I suppose you would need to touch a woman in order for that to happen, which I highly doubt a woman has consensually allowed that to happen with you in the first place.
What I hear is a loser trying to justify her obesity. People like you are the reason we have Agent Orange in the White House. You are the problem. Instead of accepting any personal responsibility for being morbidly obese, you blame others for your poor choices in life and insulate yourselves in an echo chamber of sycophants who coddle you because they actually hate you (if they cared about you, they would tell you to lose weight). Why do people get fat? Eating too many calories. Yes, it’s really that simple.
And watch your language on my blog you hateful bigot…I have little tolerance, beyond pity, for detestable “victims” who are far more privileged than the people they assail. Shame on you for misappropriating the name of Anne Frank, a true victim who did far more for the world than you’ll ever do.