The video is sparking outrage. But is it warranted?
A Black Florida boy just celebrated his 6th birthday, in part, by being serenaded by his teacher and classmates. But the song has gone viral for all the wrong — and perhaps infuriating — reasons.
After the class finished singing the traditional “Happy Birthday song” to young Legend, the unnamed Florida Public School teacher kept going with an unofficial version of the song. “You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too,” the teacher sings.
In the video, some children look confused by the remark, and the birthday boy’s smile quickly fades.
Social media users are slamming the teacher, insisting she knew exactly what she was doing when she decided to sing what she called a “funny” version of the song.
“First off, none of the kids knew nothing about this song, so you obviously not singing it to them,” TikToker @dagirlcaprie said. “The little boy looked at her so uncomfortable. The other little Black boy was like, ‘Oh, Hell no.’ No one was laughing but the little White kids. Neither of the two Black boys was laughing. And I’m so happy that they actually are aware of what’s going on, because that’s just weird. And as a teacher, you need to be something, maybe fired.”
“Yea. Come 3pm. Imma be picking bananas out that teachers a** in the parking lot. It’ll be the last song she sings for a minute,” @karimellis2.0 wrote on Instagram.
However, some people note that the song has been around for decades, arguing the teacher’s choice may have been poor judgment rather than racially motivated. Some even point out that it appeared in the children’s movie “Madagascar.”
The video was originally posted by the student’s mother, who also interpreted the teacher’s comments as a racial slight against her son.
“I’m sharing this so people understand what my son experienced in his classroom. A birthday should be celebrated with kindness, not racial jokes from an adult in a position of authority,” his mother @luvcashmerebrown wrote on TikTok.