Dank Demoss joined The Breakfast Club to discuss her recent lawsuit against a ride-share app after she was refused a ride by a Lyft driver in late-January.
Their Monday, Feb. 10 conversation kicked off with Demoss, widely known as Big Dank, noticing the office chair provided for her before asking, "Is this the only chair y'all got?"
Co-host Charlamagne Tha God later said, "You know you walked in and said the chair was too small, and we had to bring part of the [couch] sectional for you to sit in. Then you said, 'This is what I'm talking about — accommodation!'"
Charlamagne continued: "But we live in a world that's not always going to be able to accommodate people that are plus size."
The Detroit-based artist pushed back, responding, "But we should though, because we know we're all not the same, you know? I feel like we should — why not? I feel like a lot of times people think that bigger people, obese, the F-word people, should only be in the house."
Charlamagne asked for clarification on the term "F-word," to which DJ Envy clarified that the word in question was "fat," as Demoss refused to say it. Envy added that he avoids using that word in his household as well.
Demoss highlighted the double standard she perceives in society, saying, "We accommodate the LGBT community, you know, all those other communities. Why are bigger people not given the same respect and accommodation?"
Charlamagne questioned the comparison, "A lot of people would say, 'Well, LGBTQ people don't have a choice to be gay or whatever, but you have a choice to be plus-size. So they want you to make better choices; eat right, work out, lose the weight." After the co-hosts briefly debated on the topic of whether someone could be born gay, Charlamagne argued, "Let's just hypothetically say everybody born gay" for conversation's sake.
"I feel like I do. I work on myself... and when I feel like it's getting too much, I try to fix it," Dank replied. "At my pace."
Fellow co-host Jess Hilarious expressed disbelief, saying, "Who actually told you that? That is crazy." Demoss replied, "I mean, that's how it is. We go outside, and people are staring at us. For what? Because we're big?"
Demoss' exchange with a Lyft driver went viral, where she was denied service by a driver who claimed his "very tired tires" couldn't handle her weight.
The self-proclaimed "phat queen" took to social media in January to document her experience, where she can be seen conversing with a Lyft driver named Abraham who refused to let her into his car due to his fear that she was too heavy.
Although the driver assured her she would not be charged and that he is cancelling the ride, she continued to dig, telling the driver that she never has this problem in other vehicles due to her weight. In the video, Demoss can be heard telling the driver how she can fit in her best friend's Mercedes Benz that was "newer than his" just fine. That said, the driver didn't budge, maintaining that he has "very tired tires" and she should "order Uber XL."
"This MF said I can't fit his car so he gotta cancel my ride!" Demoss wrote in the video originally captured on January 19.
On Monday, January 27, Demoss took to social media announcing that she's moving forward with a lawsuit related to the incident, snapping a photo alongside who appear to be two attorneys.
"IF ION STAND FOR SOMETHING ILL FALL FOR ANYTHING," she wrote in the trending post. "THANK YOU TO MY LAWYERS MARKO & ZACH RUNYAN! FIGHTING FOR MY COMMUNITY MY PEOPLE AND MAKING CHANGE TO THE WORLD NOT JUST FOR ME BUT EVERYONE. THANK YOU TO MY TEAM AND ALL THE SUPPORT IM GETTING."
-- Originally published on Enstarz
