Whitney Thore, the 378lb YouTube sensation who moves like Beyoncé, has hit back at Sky News' Eamonn Holmes, who suggested that people think she is a bad advertisement for promoting health and body image.
"I think that's interesting because my life isn't an advertisement for anything," Thore retaliated. "I don't have a hidden agenda. I'm just living my life the way that I see fit."
The 30-year-old from North Carolina shot to fame in 2014 after uploading a video entitled 'A Fat Girl Dancing' to YouTube. It stars Thore pulling some serious shapes in a dance studio.
Since posting the video, Thore has received a mixed reaction from viewers, which has led her to launch a global campaign, No Body Shame, which promotes self-love and not being shamed out of a gym or off the dance floor. She is also set to star in her own TV series.
In an interview with Holmes, Thore quashed the health concerns that people might have for overweight people, saying: "I think that concern for health is often a mask to discriminate or be cruel to fat people."
The 30-year-old, who has fought a long battle with body image and fat shaming, added: "I'd actually like to break some stereotypes about fat people, because at 380 pounds I'm not naive to the health issues that may come if I stay this weight. But I have no major health problems and I've never even had high blood pressure."
"Yet..." chimed Holmes, who then went on to suggest that he had been "lampooned" for being overweight, and that he spoke to her from a concerned point of view.
Or patronising, as we're pretty sure this is the kind of stuff Thore knows already.
Holmes added: "You're doing your ankles no good, your knees no good, your hips no good and your heart no good."
SEE ALSO:
Woman Accused Of Fat-Shaming After Posting Fitspiration Photo On Facebook
Photos of "No Excuses" Fit Moms: Fat-Shaming or Inspiring?
Skinny Vs Fat: Why It's Time to End Body Shaming
Let's Stop Disguising Body Image Prejudice as 'Concern For Wellbeing'
"Fat people so often offend others in society and I find that it's one of the last socially acceptable prejudices," Thore told Holmes.
The 27-stone dancing fanatic says that she lost ten years of her life to depression and sadness after being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome - a common condition that affects the ovaries.
During this time she gained over 100 pounds.
Speaking on Lorraine earlier this week, Thore said: "I had body issues for years, even when I was thin I had eating disorders, so to become fat and deal with the social and cultural perceptions of that and how the world viewed me... With every pound my value seemed to decrease."
The 30-year-old added: "I want to lose weight but I'm not obsessed with being skinny for the way it looks. We place too much importance on the physical body and how people see us. But happiness starts inside.
"We have this belief that fat people can't be pretty or smart or talented, I would love to dispel some of those stereotypes. I am fat and fabulous."
Despite being targeted for her weight and receiving a lot of attention - both positive and negative - Thore insists that her videos help other people who struggle with any kind of "societal-induced shame".
"I hear from people who are anorexic, as much as I hear from people who are fat. I also hear from people who are gay, people who are disabled, people who are dealing with any kind of societal-induced shame," she said.
"I think that the first part to pursuing health and happiness fully is to not be ashamed of ourselves.
"We cannot pursue a holistic picture of health - which is mind, body and spirit - until we are happy and unashamed, and know that we are worthy and deserving."
Whitney Thore will air on TLC in her new series, Whitney: Fat Girl Dancing at 9pm on 3 February.
