Singer Meghan Trainor recently came under fire for an insulting comment against teachers, which many educators say they still take issue with despite her apology.
On a podcast with online personality Trisha Paytas, the two women discussed why they decided to homeschool their children. Paytas opened up about being "bullied" by some of her teachers, to which Trainor responded, "F-ck teachers."
Viewers pushed back against Trainor's comment, prompting her to post an apology video on Sunday where she said she "loves" and "fights" for educators. The musician said that while talking about school shootings, she had simply gotten fired up.
“Teachers of TikTok and teachers of the world, I recently said F teachers on my podcast and it’s not how I feel,” Trainor said. “I was fired up because we were talking about how sending your kid to school here in America is so horrific, and what all of us have to go through, but especially teachers, is not normal and is not OK.”
In recent years, many teachers have taken to TikTok to express frustration and raise awareness about their lack of supplies, as well as feeling overworked and underpaid. Educators in the online community saw Trainor's apology, but several did not find it convincing.
“I think we’ve all heard what Meghan Trainor said about teachers, and, as a teacher who puts so much effort into my job, to be disrespected like that is just so frustrating," kindergarten teacher Kerregan Calhoun said in a TikTok video. "I work so hard to make school a safe and memorable experience for my kids every week.”
Teachers often receive blame for the pitfalls of the education system, despite their best efforts. Former teacher Maggie Perkins added in her own video that as someone with a platform of "millions of people," it was irresponsible for Trainor to contribute to the stigma, saying, "not only was it extremely poor judgment on her part, but anyone involved with her podcast."
"Schools are a scary place to send your kids. I have a child in school," she said. "And the appropriate place I direct that anger towards is gun violence and lack of regulation of gun ownership in the United States."
@millennialmsfrizz Replying to @loved_one93 I just got off my shift at work, and saw that she did apologize. I overall feel that the apology was reactionary, and lacked sincerity. I feel that any future behavior she does to benefit education will be motivated by a need to make up for what she did, rather than a sincere support and love for teachers as she claims she loves and fights for teachers. Overall, I’m just disinterested in her opinion and most celebrities opinions, but there are some that I will be talking about on my podcast. When people use their power and influence for good, I pay attention to that. When people do good things to make up for terrible things they have said or done, it will always feel disingenuous to me #meghantrainorcontroversy #meghantrainorteacher #teachersoftiktokfyp #teachertok
