Perhaps I’m just showing my age here, but when I think “high school pep rally,” I think of kids in spirit wear - maybe a toga, some school colors, whatever - dancing in the bleachers to the beat of a drum line while cheerleaders wave pom poms and a mascot in a giant foam head tries in vain to do the worm.
What doesn’t cross my mind? A dude in bondage gear giving another guy a lap dance.
And yet, that’s exactly what appeared to happen during a pep rally at Oak Grove High School in Davidson County, North Carolina, where video from the event shows a student - apparently a male one - dressed up in a Catwoman costume gyrating on the lap of another individual seated in a chair. The dude in the Catwoman getup then hooks a leash to the guy in the seat, who then stands up (turns out he’s in a Batman outfit) and leads him across the gym floor.
If that weren’t bizarre enough, another male individual, who I can only assume is another teenage student, decked out in a pink bikini top and sparkly pink pants “twerking” on the floor.
Two individuals perform a sexual themed show in BDSM gear in front of students at @OakGroveHS. The event also included a drag queen twerking for students. pic.twitter.com/CV2dzgpz8y
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 9, 2023
In recording posted to social media reportedly sent out to students and their families Sunday evening, OGHS Principal Stephanie Stroud said she was “disgusted, appalled, upset, embarrassed and disappointed” by the event.
Update: OGHS principal, Stephanie Stroud, addressed the incident on Sunday at 5 pm via recorded voice message:
— Haley Kennington (@ladykennington) October 8, 2023
"Disgusted, appalled, upset, embarrassed, and disappointed were all the words I used to describe to my family what I witnessed at the Oak Grove pep rally on Friday..." https://t.co/b6c49o51Hb pic.twitter.com/54wjIPZyRD
“What took place on Friday was unacceptable, and does not meet the standards of excellence we have worked to establish at Oa Grove,” Stroud said, adding that she takes “full responsibility for the actions of my students.”
Related: Court Blocks School District Policy Forcing Pronoun ‘Respect’
Stroud added she would be taking measures this week to “address” the incident both with staff and students to ensure that a scene like this “will never happen again.”
Which begs the question, if the event was so lewd and so raunchy as to prompt an apology from the school principal, who stated she herself was disgusted by it, why wasn’t it shut down right then and there? Are we to believe there were no teachers or administrators in the gym while a male student in bondage gear was giving his buddy a lap dance? Did no one see a dude in a pink bikini running around before he got down and humped the floor? Who green-lit the "performances" in the first place?
Why did it take until a Sunday evening phone call - more than two full days after the incident - for the situation to be dealt with?
My guess? Because someone posted a video of it on social media, which is likely the only reason why any of us knew it had happened in the first place. After all, groomers tend to like working in secret, and the ones in the public education system appear to be no exception.
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— MRCTV (@mrctv) October 9, 2023