‘My body should be celebrated’: Teacher sacked over topless selfie sues for sexual discrimination
A 25-year-old middle school teacher claims she was fired from her job after a topless selfie she sent to a boyfriend ended up in the hands of a student. Now she wants “to fight back,” filing a $3 million discrimination lawsuit.
After four years of teaching math at Bellport Middle School in Long Island, Lauren Miranda found herself on administrative leave in January before being fired this Wednesday. The school’s superintendent allegedly told Miranda she couldn’t put her in front of a classroom with a bunch of boys who could easily take out their phones and see her naked.
Miranda says she has no idea how a student ended up with the picture considering it was taken in 2016. While she didn’t consent to it being brought for show and tell, she also believes that there is nothing actually wrong with the picture itself.
“What is wrong with my image?” she said at a press conference on Monday. “It’s my breasts. It’s my chest. It’s my body. It’s something that should be celebrated.” How the students’ parents feel about that is likely another matter.
On top of the school administration lacking appreciation for the female form, she also argued that a comparable photo of a male faculty member would not have drawn the same reaction, and would certainly not cost him his job. Meanwhile, she feels her “career has been ruined,” and her “reputation has been tarnished” because of a selfie taken years ago.
Her lawyer John Ray agrees, and says the school’s actions amount to discrimination. Miranda is now preparing to file a lawsuit to the tune of $3 million dollars, alleging she was fired because of her gender.
“The Suffolk County Administrators and School Board have not yet discovered that women are equal to men. Lauren is rightly proud of her female torso,” Ray said.
Also on rt.com Gay principal fired over sex with teens reinstated after tribunal rules decision ‘discriminatory’Miranda retains that she is willing to drop the lawsuit altogether if the school agrees to reinstate her, but they aren’t budging, which might end up leaving her with some kind of record for highest-grossing mirror selfie.
Asked about the pending litigation, the school said they would not be commenting on the matter.
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