A classmate who’s suing Fatima Ptacek—the 15-year-old voice of Dora the Explorer—claims the actress called her a “pussy” during a vaping session that got the student kicked out of school.
The 14-year-old plaintiff, identified only as “M.S.” in court filings, says Ptacek tried to get her to vape in the bathroom of their private school—Avenues: The World School in Chelsea—and then called her a pussy for refusing. The lawsuit claims Ptacek bullied M.S. to “try smoking flavored water vapor in a ‘vape’ pen that F.P. had borrowed from a fellow 10th grade classmate.”
M.S. also states in the lawsuit: “I told her I didn’t want to, but she called me a ‘p—y’ and my competitive side kicked in.”
The student says Ptacek “said some very unkind, hurtful things that in the moment made me feel vulnerable.” The December 2015 incident reportedly got M.S. expelled, while Ptacek was suspended for three days for her involvement. The student’s parents, Nadia Leonelli and Fredrik Sundwall, think Ptacek’s fame got her a lighter deal. Via the Post:
Leonelli and Sundwall, a founding family of the elite school, say they’ve spent over $10,000 in legal fees fighting their daughter’s “inappropriate” expulsion. They also want a refund on the pricey tuition.
In response, the school’s division head, Judith Fox, defended the expulsion by stating that M.S. “failed to take responsibility for her actions.” Further:
Fox also accuses M.S. of doctoring an audio recording to try and duck disciplinary measures over the vaping incident.
Zoinks. Fox says, “The goal of the disciplinary measures at Avenues New York is to restore a student to good citizenship by having the student be honest, own his or her mistakes, take responsibility for his or her own actions, and focus on his or her own behavior, not the behavior of other students.”
The lawsuit will proceed in Manhattan Supreme Court at the end of this month.
Image via Getty