Uh boy.
It seems that a girl and her grandparents are suing the Chicago Board of Education, alleging that a substitute teacher showed "Brokeback Mountain" in her eighth grade class. The lawsuit, which seeks around $500,000 in damages, claims that 12-year-old Jessica Turner suffered psychological distress as a result of seeing the film last year at Ashburn Community Elementary School.
The grandparents, Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, filed the suit Friday in Cook County Circuit Court.
"It is very important to me that my children not be exposed to this," Kenneth Richardson said in an interview with a local newspaper. "The teacher knew she was not supposed to do this."
The lawsuit also names Ashburn Principal Jewel Diaz and a substitute teacher, referred to as "Ms. Buford." The lawsuit alleges that the substitute asked a student to shut the classroom door saying: "What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms. Buford's class."
Richardson said his granddaughter was traumatized by the movie and had to undergo psychological treatment and counseling. This is not the grandfather's first beef with the school. Two years ago, he complained to about reading material that he said included curse words.
Obviously, no teacher should be showing an R-rated movie in class without the permission of parents - even one as terrific as "Brokeback Mountain. But this grandfather does sounds like a piece of work.