Lyft has responded after a Detroit woman filed a lawsuit against the rideshare company, saying that a driver refused her service because she was “too big” to fit in his car.
A spokesperson for the company said they can’t comment on pending litigation, but released the following statement to Local 4:
“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."
Lyft spokesperson
This comes after Detroit woman Dajua Blanding said she was denied a ride from Lyft due to her weight, prompting her to file a lawsuit.
Blanding captured the incident on video and posted it to her social media page, which has been shared thousands of times.
According to the video, Blanding paid Lyft for a ride from her residence to a party at her cousin’s house.
About 10-15 minutes later, a Lyft driver arrived in a Mercedez Benz sedan.
Blanding walked towards the Lyft driver’s vehicle, and the Lyft driver locked his doors and started to drive away.
She asked the driver what he was doing, and the driver told her that she was too big to get into his car.
“Under the law, refusing someone transportation due to their weight is no different than refusing someone transportation based on their race or religion.” said attorney Jon Marko. “Discrimination of any kind should never be tolerated in our society.”
The driver claimed that Blanding was too big to fit into the backseat of his vehicle and that his tires could not support her weight.
The Lyft driver also said that he had this problem in the past and that overweight people need to order Lyft XLs.
Despite Blanding assuring the Lyft driver that she could fit in the back seat, he kept his doors locked and sped off.
“Refusing someone transportation based on their weight is not only illegal, but dangerous,” said attorney Zach Runyan. “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.”
