But the show will have a lot to prove considering the extremely vicious backlash it has already received. In fact, more than 100,000 people have signed a petition on Change.com to have Netflix pull the series, which is set to release on August 10. While more and more sign and share the petition (its creator, Florence Given , even a ppeared on NBC to address the show's controversial plot line), the show's stars are defending what they say is the actual message of the series. Ryan, who is the literal face of the series (and who wears a fat suit in her character's initial appearance) said that she pulled from her own past issues with body image and body positivity to play this role. "Twelve years into my own struggles with body image, struggles that took me in and out of terrible places I never want to go again, things I choose every day to leave behind, I was drawn to this show’s willingness to go to real places about how difficult and scary it can be to move through the world in a body, whether you’re being praised or criticized for its size, and what it feels like to pray to be ignored because it’s easier than being seen," she wrote in a lengthy note on Twitter that has been shared over 2,000 times.