Meghan Trainor apologized for dissing teachers. Some say they’re still upset.

Meghan Trainor apologized for dissing teachers. Some say they’re still upset.

Some teachers on TikTok are expressing their disappointment in singer Meghan Trainor, following a comment she made on her podcast that they felt disrespected the profession. 

The singer generated backlash after she said “F--- teachers” during an episode of “Workin’ On It with Meghan Trainor & Ryan Trainor” released last week. The remark was made during a discussion with guest Trisha Paytas, a controversial influencer, when she explained why she is homeschooling her child.

“Teachers of TikTok and teachers of the world, I recently said F teachers on my podcast and it’s not how I feel,” Trainor, 29, said in her apology video posted Sunday. “I was fired up because we were talking about how sending your kid to school here in America is so horrific and what all of us have to go through, but especially teachers, is not normal and is not OK.” 

The Grammy winner also said she was bullied by teachers in the past, and that experience played into her comment. She said she “love[s]” and “fight[s]” for teachers.

A representative for Trainor did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the continued backlash.

The clip of Trainor’s initial comment, as well as her apology, quickly circulated on TikTok among educators, many of whom have utilized the platform to vent about burnout and lack of resources in their profession. Many educators have historically dealt with a slew of difficulties in their career, including low pay, pressure to keep students safe during school shootings, disrespect from parents and students, and health concerns from the Covid pandemic. 

“I think we’ve all heard what Meghan Trainor said about teachers and, as a teacher who puts so much effort into my job, to be disrespected like that is just so frustrating,” kindergarten teacher Kerregan Calhoun said in a TikTok video that has garnered over half a million views. “I work so hard to make school a safe and memorable experience for my kids every week.”

Second grade teacher Carina Boltres, who has over 745,000 followers on TikTok, said she is no longer a fan of the artist — and that the apology wasn’t enough.

“I don’t accept,” Boltres, who goes by misscarinab on TikTok, said in a response to Trainor’s apology. “... I would love to see the people complaining about teachers do our job for one day.” 

Another teacher, who goes by fantasticallyfirst, posted a video of herself in a classroom with her arms crossed and wrote the caption “listening to Meghan Trainor’s apology.”

“& people wonder why so many amazing teachers are leaving the profession… yes, with the world we are living in schools are 100% a scary place BUT there are so many teachers that will do literally ANYTHING for their students,” she wrote in the caption of the video. “We constantly put ourselves (most of the times at the cost of our own mental/emotional/physical health) because we LOVE our students. Im not saying that the apology wasn’t heard… but this is the exact reason teachers are speaking up & speaking out more. Please pray for us teachers ❤” 

Some former educators also weighed in. 

“Something that I told my students when I was teaching is that if you’re making an apology, and that apology contains excuses surrounding why you did the original action, it devalues the apology itself,” Maggie Perkins, who goes by millennialmsfrizzle on TikTok, said in a video response to Trainor. “It makes it less sincere.”

Perkins, who left the education field and has a podcast about the perils of teaching, said Trainor has “millions of people” listening to her “so not only was it extremely poor judgment on her part, but anyone involved with her podcast.” 

The discourse surrounding Trainor's remark spilled over to Twitter.

"Meghan Trainor’s comments about teachers makes me sad. We get the short end of the stick all. the. time," wrote one Twitter user.

"As a product of public schools and as an educator for 30+ years in public schools, I find her statement/apology uninformed and demeaning to all of us who pour into our students every single day our love,knowledge,money and souls," wrote another user.