Nicole Arbour, the YouTube personality whose "Dear Fat People" video sparked a massive online backlash, has been fired from an upcoming film she was working on.
Arbour, whose CV includes work with the Toronto Argonauts cheerleaders, had apparently been confirmed as choreographer for an anti-bullying dance film called Don't Talk to Irene. However, director Pat Mills apparently saw Arbour's video, which, in his words, "made me never want to see her again."
"I was supposed to get together with her this week for what she called a 'chore party' to watch my favorite dance scenes and talk ideas," Mills told Zap2It. But after seeing the video, he changed his mind.
" 'Dear Fat People' is an unfunny and cruel fat-shaming video that guises itself about being about 'health,' " Mills said. "It's fat-phobic and awful. It went on for over six minutes. I felt like I had been punched in the gut.
"I'm gay. I was bullied a lot as a kid," Mills added. "I am no stranger to ridicule and loneliness."
Chrissy Teigen Takes on YouTube Star Nicole Arbour's 'Dear Fat People' Video: 'There is Such a Thing as fat Shaming'
Whitney Thore, whose response to Arbour's video was widely passed around, told PEOPLE exclusively, "All I have to say about this is that this movie sounds awesome and promotes such a necessary message that aligns perfectly with my No Body Shame campaign."
"As a dancer myself, I began professionally choreographing at age 16 – being involved with a project like this sounds like a dream. Best of luck to everyone involved and if you need an extra set of hands (or feet), let me know!"
Arbour has refused to apologize for the video, telling TIME, "I feel it's really important that we make fun of everybody. I think [what] brings us together and unites us as people is that we can poke fun at all of us."
But the comedian is denying she ever had anything to do with Don't Talk to Irene in the first place. Thursday evening, she tweeted, "I'm not currently, nor have I been attached to any feature films as of late," followed by a winking emoji and the hashtag #gossip.
Friday, Arbour provided the following statement to PEOPLE: "I have never formally been attached to this project. We had spoken of it, and last I heard the team was doing a re-write. Pat Mills is using my YouTube story as a reason to get a low budget film that has not yet even started production press.”
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