Her mom Rachel claims the school principal condemned her partying for not 'living in the Lord's way'
A Louisiana high schooler saw her student government president title stripped and chances at college scholarships ruined after footage of her 'twerking' at a homecoming afterparty surfaced.
Kaylee Timonet, 17, was seen laughing and gyrating with her friends from Walker High School in the video, but school principal Jason St Pierre didn't see the funny side and allegedly told her she wasn't 'living in the Lord's way.'
As a reaction to the partying, St Pierre revoked her title and refused to continue helping her obtain a college scholarship, a move that has sparked widespread backlash.
'I just started crying hysterically,' Kaylee told UWK. 'They basically told me I should be ashamed of myself and that they were concerned about my afterlife if I wasn't following basically God's ideals, which made me cry even more.'
Kaylee Timonet, 17, said she was left 'hysterically crying' after her student government president title was stripped and her chances at a college scholarship were ruined after a video of her twerking at a homecoming after-party surfaced
The teen was seen laughing and 'twerking' with her friends at the private party, and when she was first confronted with the footage Kaylee said she 'didn't think anything of it'
Timonet was seen in the video, which was taken by a DJ and shared to social media, celebrating with her friends at the neon event
The school's principal Jason St Pierre allegedly condemned the teen for not 'living in the Lord's way' as he dealt out his strict punishment
Many have remarked that the footage appeared innocuous, where Kaylee was dressed in bright neon colors as dozens of other teens danced around her.
Kaylee beamed from ear to ear as she waved her arms in the air and frolicked with a friend, behaving as many would expect her to at a homecoming party.
Outraged locals have hit out at St Pierre for his aggressive reaction to the video, with many comparing him to dance-hating characters in the movie 'Footloose.'
The Livingston Parish School District told The Advocate they plan to investigate the situation, but declined to comment further.
Timonet was up for two prestigious college scholarships that St Pierre had given his recommendation, and had excitedly attended the private party to celebrate entering her senior year.
The teen also boasted a 4.2 grade average, tutors local kids and was recently awarded outstanding volunteer in Baton Rouge.
But her mom, Rachel Timonet, claimed there was paperwork to still fill out for the scholarships, which was the reason Kaylee believed she was being summoned to the school on October 3, after the party.
But Kaylee was stunned to be ambushed by furious teachers, who told her that 'they didn't want her representing Walker High School', her mom Rachel told The Advocate.
'He told her she wasn't living in the Lord's way and questioned who her friends were and if they followed the Lord... She said she didn't know how to answer that and they said it's a yes or no question. Meanwhile, she's sobbing.'
Rachel claimed his religious zealotry even saw St Pierre print out bible verses and highlight sections to hammer home his point.
Above losing her role as student government president and the potential loss of her college career, the teen was most devastated to find out she was also no longer eligible for student of the year.
'Her entire life she's worked toward that,' the mother said, saying she reacted with fury after learning about the strict punishment.
'She said she really felt she didn't think anything was wrong in the video, but at this point she said she really felt like a complete failure.'
After being slated for her 'twerking', Kaylee said: 'I've been a dancer my entire life and I just really like to have fun... I felt like my life was over'
Her mom, Rachel Timonet, spoke out after the incident to demand justice for her daughter, saying that the teen was left feeling like a 'complete failure'
The talented teen boasted a 4.2 grade average, tutored local kids and was also the Beta Club president, but was left so distraught by the punishment she had to leave school in tears
The move to strictly punish the teen has been met with widespread backlash, with locals printing rebellious t-shirts and badges declaring: 'Let the girl dance'
At the center of the scandal was a meeting Kaylee was hauled into by school administrators after the video surfaced, which Rachel said she was furious at not being invited to join.
Kaylee said she was summoned to the front office at the start of the day at 7:30am on October 4, but brushed it off as normal as her role as student government president meant she was called in regularly.
But she was dumbstruck to be confronted with anger at her partying, saying she was also particularly upset because 'student government is the best thing that happened to me during high school.'
Footage of the neon-themed event was taken by the private party's DJ, DJ Savage, who posted it on social media. Both Kaylee and her mom say they saw the video before it was shared and 'didn't think anything of it.'
'I've been a dancer my entire life and I just really like to have fun... I felt like my life was over,' Kaylee said.
'Everything I worked for since I was little, always worked really hard at school. Being student of the year, at least having a chance at it, has always been my main goal.
'I work very hard in class. I stress myself out over everything and I'm also Beta president so there's a lot of things on my plate that I could lose... it was a shock.'
After fearing returning to school if people had a 'negative view' of her based on the video, Kaylee said support from her peers 'means the world'
The Livingston Parish School District said they plan to investigate the situation at Walker High School (pictured) amid the backlash
Kaylee said she was so distraught at the punishment she had to leave school because she was crying too much.
She feared going back to school after thinking people would have a 'negative view' of her after the video, but said she saw an outpouring of support from her peers instead.
'The video was not inappropriate whatsoever,' she said. 'I was just so afraid that people were going to hate me after that so seeing that people were supporting me no matter what and seeing that my accomplishments were still noticed means the world.'
After her daughter returned home in floods of tears, Rachel said she stormed into the school the next morning and had a hostile face-off with St Pierre, who told the mother that he defended the appropriateness of his actions.
'I told him at the pep rally that the dancing they do at their competition is way worse than what Kaylee was doing,' Rachel added.
'If you are going to be unfair to my child, they had other people dancing in that video also that are on the dance team that nothing happened to. He said she was punished because she is the 'hood-ornament' of the school.'
She added the issue of religion taking center stage in the scandal irked her, feeling Kaylee 'should not be questioned or spoken about faith at all.'
'It's a public school, not a private school. He has no right to discuss any sort of religion with my child.'
'We've been having after-parties for years after homecoming and after prom. It's a place for kids to have fun and dance. I was physically there myself with other parents.
'I was physically there watching her do it. If I would have thought it was inappropriate in any way, I would have corrected my child,' Rachel added to WAFB.
Locals in Walker have shown dismay at the harshness of the principal's reaction, including printing out rebellious t-shirts and badges declaring: 'Let the girl dance.'
Kaylee defiantly maintains that 'the video was not inappropriate whatsoever,' and many have criticized the school's principal for centering the row over religion
Residents of the Louisiana town also shared their anger at seeing the teen punished, with a local 'What's Going On In Walker' Facebook group flooded with similarly furious sentiments towards her treatment.
'If I was her parent, I would hire a lawyer,' said one, who felt the principals clearly 'overstepped.'
'They said it was an after party and didn't happen at school,' said another. 'So NO. He had no rights even approaching this girl about the dance. And what happened to freedom in the USA.'
Many took issue with St Pierre's insistence upon shoehorning religion into the argument, as another resident said: 'It's supposed to be a PUBLIC school how are they gonna throw religion in this.'
