Anger as burlesque dancer is fired by New Orleans French Quarter club Lucky Pierre's because 'she is overweight and fails to match their high standards'

• Ruby Rage has claimed that Lucky Pierre's fired her due to her size
• The club said in a Facebook post 'The world has a standard for burlesque and our dramatically comical musical show will achieve that standard'
• Hundreds of comments poured in - many of which slammed Lucky Pierre's and came to Rage's defense
• In a second message, Lucky Pierre's said 'It is a shame that people are using a sensitive subject like body shaming to incite a misled mob. The standard we clearly explained was about skill, costume and entertainment'

By Zoe Szathmary for MailOnline

Published: 13:51 EST, 23 February 2015 | Updated: 08:10 EST, 24 February 2015

A New Orleans club has been accused by a burlesque dancer of firing her due to issues with her body type.

Both high-profile figures in the burlesque community as well as Facebook commenters have lashed out at French Quarter nightclub Lucky Pierre's.

The club became the target of online criticism after performer Ruby Rage claimed Lucky Pierre's dumped her because of her weight.

Rage had been part of 'The Blue Book Cabaret' show at the club.

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Dancer: Ruby Rage, pictured, has claimed that Lucky Pierre's let her go due to her size

Dismissal: Rage has said she was informed 'that upper management didn't think that my body type fit in with the burlesque show'

Rage told 21st Century Burlesque 'I have been working at Lucky Pierre’s for around a year. About three weeks ago I stopped seeing my name on the schedule, so naturally I asked about this because I thought it was a technical error with my phone/computer on my end.'

'I finally had the chance to speak with [show producer] Bella Blue, and she told me that upper management didn't think that my body type fit in with the burlesque show,' she told the website.

Lucky Pierre's said in a Friday Facebook page statement 'Let's face the facts, in the long history of the art there is an expected image.'

The club also said that 'The world has a standard for burlesque and our dramatically comical musical show will achieve that standard.'

Lucky Pierre's cited a number of current and former burlesque stars who are not plus-size as examples, including Dita von Teese and Blaze Starr, and included a video of Miss Exotic World champion LouLou D'Vil performing.

The post received hundreds of comments - many of which slammed Lucky Pierre's and came to Rage's defense.

Others pointed to Miss Exotic World champion Dirty Martini as an example of a famous burlesque performer, who herself is a plus-size.

Speaking out: Lucky Pierre's posted this Facebook post in regards to the controversy

Examples: Lucky Pierre cited Dita von Teese, left, and Blaze Starr, right, as examples of burlesque's 'expected image'

Second message: Lucky Pierre's later posted a second statement online

Anger: The first Lucky Pierre's post has received hundreds of comments - many of which slammed the club and came to Rage's defense

D'Vil herself commented on the post, writing 'If a performer is able to entertain the audience, nothing else matters. And that's my opinion.'

The Burlesque Hall of Fame criticized Lucky Pierre's message on Facebook Saturday, claiming it was factually incorrect.

Writing for 21st Century Burlesque on Sunday, Dirty Martini said 'I read the statement [from Lucky Pierre's] and was interested to find that they justify their argument using some sort of burlesque time machine with examples handpicked from the past to prove their point. To this sort of logic, there is no argument. It’s like using Hitler, Mussolini and Saddam Hussein as examples of why power corrupts in politics.'

Lucky Pierre's published a second Facebook statement Sunday.

'There was never a statement by any representatives of Lucky Pierre's about size,' the statement said. 'It is a shame that people are using a sensitive subject like body shaming to incite a misled mob. The standard we clearly explained was about skill, costume and entertainment.'

Several Facebook comments regarding the second post accused the Bourbon Street club of 'backpedaling.'

Joining in: The Burlesque Hall of Fame commented on Facebook about the controversy in the burlesque community

Statement: Ruby Rage has said 'It's the talent of the performer and what they bring to that stage that really matters'

Lucky Pierre's spokesman 'AJ' told NOLA.com 'It is my understanding that the point the [Facebook] post was attempting to convey is that the changes were not specifically about size but rather the entire show. We are looking for more energy, better costumes, and more crowd participation. We have worked on this particular act since October and unfortunately there was little improvement. The worst part is this misinformation is now affecting other acts and in the end it will only hurt our loyal staff. That is very sad and I hope our fans can see past this web bashing.'

On Saturday, Bella Blue wrote on Facebook 'A lot of you have asked for comment on what is going regarding what happened with Ruby Rage. I promise to make a clear and concise statement when the time is right. Please know that this situation involves and affects a lot of people and creates a ripple effect far and wide. That being said, also know that Ruby's community loves and supports her.

'On a personal note, Ruby and I are friends. We have talked extensively about this in private. And we will continue to be friends and work together for many years to come.'

Blue announced that she 'will no longer be producing at Lucky Pierre's' on Facebook Monday.

Daily Mail Online reached out to Rage, Blue, and Lucky Pierre's for comment.

Rage directed Daily Mail Online to a statement she earlier gave to NOLA.com, which said in part 'Some may agree with Lucky Pierre's, and some may not. But the bigger picture here isn't just this, it's the fact that burlesque is something that accepts everyone. So please don't sit in the corner calling a show burlesque when you truly do no accept everyone's appearance. It's the talent of the performer and what they bring to that stage that really matters.'