White Teacher Under Fire For Singing 'Monkey' Song On Black Boy's Birthday

A white teacher in Florida is under fire after she sang a "monkey" birthday song to a six-year-old Black boy at school.

In a video shared on TikTok, the boy's classmates and teacher first sang the traditional "Happy Birthday" song to celebrate the occasion. The teacher then delivered what the boy's mother believes was a racially charged version of the birthday song.

"Happy birthday to you. You live in the zoo. You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too," the teacher recited, leaving several children visibly uncomfortable and confused.

The mother of the boy, identified as six-year-old Legend, called the teacher's song a racial insult.

“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," the mother said.

Other TikTokers echoed the mother's sentiment.

“None of the kids knew nothing about this song, so you obviously not singing it to them,” one TikTok user said in a reaction video. “The little boy looked at her so uncomfortable... And as a teacher, you need to be something, maybe fired.”

"We all know why she sung that song to the black kid," another user commented.

"That was WILD…naw she was WRONG," a third person said.

Other users defended the teacher, arguing that the "monkey" song has long been used as a birthday rhyme and featured in children's movies like Madagascar. However, several users noted that context matters, especially when the line was directed at a Black child.

“This wasn’t just tone-deaf. It was harmful,” one commenter wrote. “Kids notice. Legend noticed.”

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