*Marquise White, the teacher who went viral on TikTok for livestreaming his female students undoing his braids in the classroom, is now under investigation by the Maryland school district.
The middle school teacher selected students he referred to as “best friends” to help unbraid his hair on May 5 during a downtime in the classroom. We reported earlier that the clip amassed over 8 million views and sparked debate online about professional boundaries and the nature of student-teacher interactions
White, known as “thilluminatin1” and White on TikTok, can be seen in the footage getting help from several female students to undo his braided, noting that he had scheduled a haircut right after school and needed the braids removed.
“I had a hair appointment immediately after school, and I needed my hair taken out before. I would have taken it out the night before. But that Friday, we had a camera crew coming in to shoot a promotional video, and I was one of the ones being interviewed. So I had to look presentable,” he said.
According to Distractifty, White was fired following the backlash. Many social media users believe that the braiding incident wasn’t the sole reason for his dismissal.
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Okay. YEAH … This IS weird!
Is THAT a septum ring?
Who knows this guy?
It’s saying his name is: JaQ Lee smh #AskTwitter pic.twitter.com/SjWho5BtvW— April Showers ? (@only1showers) May 9, 2024
Inquiring minds probed some of White’s older TikTok videos and one showed female students paining his nails. In another post, the teacher looks out the window of his class with the caption, “When you catch a student’s mom lookin like a snack during carpool.”
After his dismissal, White shared an emotional TikTok in which the broke down in tear while reading messages allegedly from his students.
“‘Hey bestie, I really hope that you see this message,’” he read while crying.“‘I hope that you’re okay. My class missed you so much. We want you to know that we love you and we miss you… I want you to know the class and others got your back.
Watch the clip below.
@thilluminatin1 #teacher ♬ Sad and sad guitar(1102575) – syummacha
Complex reports that the Maryland school district launched an investigation into a White, who worked at the Maya Angelou French Immersion School in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland.
The teacher has been “reassigned out of the classroom pending the outcome of the investigation,” Lynn McCawley, senior public information specialist at Prince George’s County Public Schools, told People in a statement.
Meanwhile, in the 2-part statement shared on X/Twitter, White “clears the air” amid the negative backlash to his classroom behavior with minors.
WATCH:
“Jaq Lee” clears the air ??Pt. 1 #teacher pic.twitter.com/gMO7YRZFVd
— JaQ Lee (@thilluminator) May 18, 2024
“Jaq Lee” clears the air ??Pt. 2 #teacher pic.twitter.com/WuHXyKNLHO
— JaQ Lee (@thilluminator) May 18, 2024
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Video of Female Students Unbraiding Teacher’s Braids Stirs Controversy | WATCH
