Staff Reports
Detroit’s latest viral spectacle came courtesy of rapper Dajua Blanding, who performs under the name Dank Demoss, after a Lyft driver allegedly refused to give her a ride because of her size and she promptly filed suit. Local outlets report the encounter happened in mid-January and the lawsuit was filed later that month, turning a routine ride request into another headline-grabbing legal tempest.
Video of the encounter shows the driver telling Blanding that his sedan was too small and that she wouldn’t fit, even telling her his tires couldn’t handle her weight and suggesting she order a larger vehicle — remarks that ignited social media fury and a media feeding frenzy. The driver reportedly offered to cancel the trip and refund her, advice many commonsense Americans would call reasonable if safety is genuinely at issue.
Blanding’s camp pushed back hard, saying the denial amounted to discrimination and pointing to Michigan rules that recognize weight as a protected characteristic, while the rapper has publicly stated she weighs nearly 489 pounds. That combination — a performative claim of victimhood mixed with an aggressive legal posture — is exactly the kind of spectacle that fuels lawsuits and degrades ordinary commerce.
Lyft moved quickly to distance itself from the driver’s conduct, issuing a statement condemning discrimination and reaffirming its community guidelines, which launched the predictable chorus of outrage from activists and the press. Corporations now rush to virtue-signal the moment a clip goes viral, and too often that reflex punishes their own contractors and ignores on-the-ground safety concerns drivers face every day.
Let’s be clear: Americans should be treated with dignity and none of us cheer needless humiliation. But we also live in a country where personal responsibility and common sense matter — if a driver genuinely believes a passenger’s size will create a safety hazard, he should be allowed to make a practical judgment without fear of being dragged into a headline-seeking lawsuit. Courts and lawmakers should resist turning every awkward encounter into an avenue for litigation and public shaming.
This episode is another example of our culture’s obsession with turning every dispute into a morality play, and Washington must stop empowering grievance entrepreneurs. Real conservatives believe in fair treatment, honest commerce, and leaving people free to make reasonable safety calls; if we don’t push back against the legal and cultural incentives that reward spectacle over sense, hardworking Americans will keep paying the price.
