This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Canada, which closed in 2021.

Montreal Teacher Jacqueline Laurent-Auger Fired After Students Find 40-Year-Old Erotic Films

Montreal Teacher Fired After Students Uncover Erotic Films

UPDATE: Laurent-Auger has been asked to return to Le Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, the school's human resources director wrote in a letter Tuesday, saying that the "whole issue could have been handled differently".

A Montreal teacher has been fired after her students uncovered a very racy part of her past.

Jacqueline Laurent-Auger, who up until recently taught theatre at the prestigious private school Le Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf in Montreal, lost her job in July after some of her students dug up clips of erotic films she had starred in more than 40 years ago, the Globe and Mail reported.

Laurent-Auger, who is now 73, had parts in several erotic films in the 1960s and '70s, during what she said was a time of openness in the art world. The films weren't pornographic, she told the Globe.

“I did it as a young actress to make a little money. The idea of throwing someone out the door for something they did almost 50 years ago is idiotic. It makes me angry.”

The school confirmed to La Presse that she was let go because the students' discovery created a "tense atmosphere" in her classroom, and that she was no longer a good role model for the teens.

The fact that students can see a staff member naked with another adult is unacceptable, said the school's director, Michel April.

Le Journal de Montreal watched some of the films and said while Laurent-Auger was nude in several scenes, none of them were sexually explicit and they fit with French film culture at the time.

Several of the site's bloggers were critical of the school's decision, with one slamming it as a kind of "hypocritical puritanism".

"When you decide to hire a professional artist in this environment, one must understand that this type of scene is part of the acting experience," wrote blogger Tania Longpré.

According to a statement, however, the school fears the films might be a negative influence on students looking to break into theatre and the arts.

Laurent-Auger doesn't regret her past, but told CBC's As It Happens she's surprised it has any bearing on her current job.

"I did so many wonderful things afterwards. It was a little, little, little part of my career, for Pete's sake!"

What do you think? Should a teacher whose students have seen her nude be able to keep teaching? Let us know in the comments below.

ALSO ON HUFFPOST

George Feeny

Teachers We Wish We Had

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Canada. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.