What did Megan Gaither do? Missouri High School English teacher placed on leave over viral video controversy

Megan Gaither, a 31-year-old English teacher and varsity cheerleading coach at St. Clair High School, was placed on leave last week over filming explicit content on OnlyFans alongside another recently dismissed teacher, Brianna Coppage.

Megan Gaither is the second teacher to be placed on administrative leave in St. Clair High School after Brianna Coppage, also an English teacher, was subjected to similar disciplinary measures when the district officials found out she had an OnlyFans account.

Coppage resigned from her teaching position earlier this month after her story was shared by multiple news outlets across the world and her success on the adult site soared.

Gaither, in an interview with the Post-Dispatch, said that, like Coppage, she opened an Only Fans account to supplement her measly teaching income as she had more than $125,000 in student loans. Gaither has master’s degrees from Missouri Baptist University and Arizona State University,

“Teaching does not financially support a person. It’s really hard to stretch those paychecks during the summer. That’s why I did it.”

However, Gaither explained that, unlike Brianna Coappge, she hopes to return to teaching as she loves her vocation.

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What led to Megan Gaither's suspension?

Megan Gaither, who deactivated her account - which had about 1,500 subscribers - after Coppage’s site was discovered by the district, said that she was found out after she appeared in a video on Coppage’s account last week.

While the explicit video, which was recorded after a party in a St. Louis hotel room, did not show her face, Gaither said that the people were able to identify her as she was wearing the same costume at the party prior to filming the video with Coppage in the hotel room.

“I was in like maybe four minutes of the entire thing, and I definitely did not think this would be the thing that would ruin my entire career,” Gaither said.

Gaither, who teaches American and British literature at St. Clair High and earns $47,000 per year, said that in a matter of days of filming the video with Coppage, she has earned almost a fourth of that pay.

“I did not get any financial gain for it, I just did it because we were having fun and I wanted to.”

Megan Gaither said that since she was outed, she has faced backlash from the community and fears she will be fired from her job.

“I am a woman and some people do not like me in the community, I’ve known this for three years now. I have been sl*t-shamed, I’ve been ostracized at work, I had essentially no support, especially last week which was the hardest week of my life,” Gaither said.

Meanwhile, the district’s superintendent, Kyle Kruse, said that they do not have a statement to issue at this time.

According to the New York Post, Brianna Coppage, who resigned from the school earlier this month, alleged she has earned $1 million on the site since leaving.