Blanking shot a video of her interaction with the cab driver and posted it on her Instagram profile. In the video, she can be heard telling the cab driver that she had never been refused entry into cabs before due to her size. She sued the cab company Lyft alleging ‘unfair treatment’.
The video of Blanding’s interaction with the Lyft driver has gone viral on social media. In the video, Blanding can be heard insisting that she could fit in the car. But the driver kept refusing her. “I can’t fit in the car,” Blanding said. “Believe me, you can’t,” the driver responded. He said that his car’s tyres would not be able to support her weight. When she asked the driver what made him think that she should not fit in his car, he replied that he had been in a similar situation before.
The rapper sued the cab company despite the driver assuring her a refund on her ride. She accused the driver of discriminating against her. “I just want them to know that it hurt my feelings, ” she said. Despite the driver saying he would refund the rapper on her ride, she sued the ride-hailing service claiming she was discriminated against.
Blanding later shared a story on Instagram comparing her weight and the car’s maximum load capacity on her Instagram story.
She claimed that she weighed 489 lbs (approximately 220 kg) which is lower than the maximum load capacity of the car.
Lyft issued a statement condemning discrimination
As per reports, Lyft issued a statement condemning the statement. “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 spokesperson of the company said.
Blanding’s lawyers, Jonathan Marko and Zach Runyan compared the Lyft driver’s refusal to pick up Blanding to ‘refusing someone transportation based on their race or religion’. “Refusing someone transportation based on their weight is not only illegal but dangerous,” Runyan said.
“Imagine, the consequences if Ms Blanding were unable to seek shelter after the driver left her stranded. This could have ended worse than it did,” he added.
