A high school teacher who once posed naked for Playboy has been fired.
Cristy Nicole Deweese, a 21-year-old Spanish teacher in Texas, caused outrage among parents when they learned she had been featured as Playboy’s “Coed of the Month” as a university student in 2011.
The racy photoshoot wasn’t illegal, and Deweese wasn’t a teacher at the time, but her past was presumably deemed inappropriate by school administrators. The Dallas Observer reports Deweese was fired on October 10, but the school district refuses to comment.
The teacher herself says she signed a contract barring her from doing any interviews until November 8, so she is unable to discuss her departure for now.
The controversial photos and videos of Deweese are still online. They include full-frontal nude shots and a simulated lesbian sex scene, along with some racy comments.
“My butt looks great in jeans, panties or nothing,” Deweese told Playboy. “My legs are long. But my favorite thing about my body is my breasts. They’re small, but real, nicely shaped, and I don’t have to worry about back pain, bras, men staring or anything.”
Several students from Deweese’s class appear to have contacted their former teacher on Twitter since her departure. They’re pretty upset about it. One even started a petition to “Save Ms Deweese”, and managed to get more than 300 signatures.
While she hasn’t given a formal interview, Deweese has made several comments on Twitter and she seems optimistic.
“Just because I’m trying to be positive does not mean I didn’t love teaching. What’s done is done. It’s pointless to be depressed about it,” she said. “I’m just hoping they find a new teacher soon so it doesn’t affect the students.”
Some parents have expressed their support for Deweese since she was fired, while others say the Playboy shoot compromised her ability to teach.
“You are the best Spanish teacher she has ever had. If you need a letter of support you can count on me as a parent and my daughter is willing to support you as well. Hang in there,” one parent wrote.
Another parent, Esmeralda Landa-Soch, told Fox4 the situation was a distraction for students, who were reportedly “obsessing” over the racy photos.
“I think it would be more distracting for the boys,” Ms Landa-Soch said. “They wouldn’t see the teacher as a role model, like she’s supposed to be.”
This story originally appeared on News.com.au.