Substitute Teacher ‘Relieved of Duty’ After Doing Karaoke Cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” for Students

Britney Spears’ “Toxic” was one of the obvious highlights off her 2003 LP In the Zone, and last week, the pop classic inspired a Texas substitute teacher to enter his own zone as he was filling in for a class. 

In a few videos now making their rounds on the internet, an unidentified educator who took on temporary teaching duties at Bowie High School—which is part of the Austin Independent School District—can be seen jamming out to a karaoke version of the Britney track for a solid minute, with strobe lights for the full effect. 

After his grand display, which was recorded by students, the sub was asked to leave for the rest of the day since he “wasn’t following [their] best practices,” a district rep told KXAN. While some had spread rumors that the man was not a sub, the district confirmed to the station that he was a registered substitute. 

“I’ve heard worse Britney Spears covers, but the lights are a bit much,” the rep said. “… All processes were followed, it was simply a case of a substitute not following our practices.”

The man, who brought the karaoke machine to class, also played another song before he was told to go home.

“It was all a bit confusing. We didn’t know what this was all about until our son explained what it was,” Andre Abelkis, a father of one of the kids in the class, told the New York Post. “Yes, we were a little upset that a substitute teacher would not care about teaching the class and just do something for themselves. And, yes, I think the teacher should have been removed from class.”