500 LB. Behemoth Suing Lyft After Driver Denies Her Ride

[army judge]

DETROIT (Gray News) - A rapper is suing Lyft after a driver allegedly refused to let her in his car because of her weight, according to KOMO.

Detroit rapper Dank Demoss, who has shared on social media that she weighs 489 pounds, announced that she is suing Lyft Monday saying she is "fighting for my community my people and making change to the world."

Earlier this month, she shared a video of her encounter with a Lyft driver who refused to let her in his car.

In the video, she can be heard telling the driver that she can fit in his car.

"Believe me, you can't," he said, citing an issue with his tires as the reason for not being able to continue the ride.

The driver told her he would cancel the ride so she would not be charged.

Lyft's anti-discrimination policy says drivers cannot deny riders based on any "protected characteristics," including race, color, national origin and gender, among others. Size, however, is not mentioned.

"Lyft unequivocally condemns all forms of discrimination—we believe in a community where everyone is treated with equal respect and mutual kindness," a Lyft spokesperson said in a statement to KOMO Tuesday. "Our community guidelines and terms of service explicitly prohibit harassment or discrimination."

489-pound rapper suing Lyft after driver denies her ride

A rapper is suing Lyft after a driver told her she would not fit in his car.

www.kwtx.com

 

[adjusterjack]

Damn, how does she even stand up?

 

[army judge]

Damn, how does she even stand up?

By the grace, love, and power of Almighty God, amen.

 

[Tax Counsel]

Lyft's anti-discrimination policy says drivers cannot deny riders based on any "protected characteristics," including race, color, national origin and gender, among others. Size, however, is not mentioned.

What the author of that didn't mention, probably because he/she didn't bother to do the research before writing up the story, is that Michigan is the only state in the country that has a law prohibiting discrimination based on weight. Currently the law only expressly covers weight discrimination in employment but that makes it a potential spring board for claims in non-employment situations too. The fact that weight is a protected characteristic in that state for employment means that Lyft has at the least a significant potential public relations problem if it simply tries to brush this off as something that is not a "protected characteristic" in the state.

 

[Red Kayak]

I think if the driver focused on the safety aspect - not being able to provide a seatbelt to accommodate her girth - that might be a less problematic argument.

She might feel that her stomach is a built in cushion, but I would not want to chance the potential liability in an accident of knowingly having an unbelted passenger.

 

[Tax Counsel]

I think if the driver focused on the safety aspect - not being able to provide a seatbelt to accommodate her girth - that might be a less problematic argument.

That argument would work if the driver first allowed her to sit in the car and see if the seat belt will fit. Then if the passenger can't get seatbelt around them the driver would be on much firmer ground saying "I'm sorry, but all people in my car must wear a seat belt for safety."

 

[welkin]

That argument would work if the driver first allowed her to sit in the car and see if the seat belt will fit. Then if the passenger can't get seatbelt around them the driver would be on much firmer ground saying "I'm sorry, but all people in my car must wear a seat belt for safety."

The reason the driver gave for not taking the ride was her weight because his car had those thin low-clarence tires, and they were not rated for it. It was not the size of her girth.

 

[Redemptionman]

Yeah and she ordered the economy not the XL or suv because she is cheap.

I think the Lyft driver showed up in a mini cooper, yeah this person isn't fitting in a mini cooper and it probably would have broken the car,