Somerset County Teacher's Anti-Gay Facebook Post Draws Ire From Celebrities, Alumni

A religion teacher at Immaculata High School in Somerville is at the center of a controversy, which caught the attention of several celebrities and alumni, after making an anti-gay rant on her Facebook page.

In a since-deleted Facebook post, Patricia Jannuzzi, religion teacher at the school, said earlier this week that gays or gay activists “want to reengineer western civ into a slow extinction,” according to the Daily Record.

She continued saying that the argument that gays are protected under the 14th Amendment is “bologna” and added, “We need healthy families with a mother and father for the sake of the children and humanity!!!!”, the report said.

Immaculata High School has since made Jannuzzi take down her Facebook page, but not before others took screenshots of the anti-gay post and shared them on social media, the report said.

The Catholic school has distanced itself from Jannuzzi, releasing a statement from Principal Jean Kline saying the school “takes this situation very seriously,” and “through investigation, we have determined that the information posted on this social media page has not been reflected in the curriculum content of the classes she teaches,” according to the report.

The statement from Kline continued, “We are dedicated to creating a school environment that promotes mutual respect and provides a challenging academic program, rooted in the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.”

Greg Bennett, former cast member of “Real Housewives of New Jersey”, a 2004 Immaculata alumnus who had Jannuzzi as a teacher in his senior year, took a screenshot of the teacher’s rant and shared it on his Twitter account. Bennett asked his 165,000 followers to sign a Change.org petition addressed to school administrators calling for “action to be taken and hate speech to stop at Immaculata.”

I never ask you guys to do stuff like this, but pls sign-Immaculata High School: Stop Public Hate Speech of Teachers https://t.co/kRZ5zOLonj

— Greg Bennett (@GreggyBennett) March 10, 2015

As of Thursday morning, the petition has 500 signatures.

Actress Susan Sarandon, Edison High School graduate, also expressed her outrage at the teacher’s comments. Sarandon shared a letter written to Jannuzzi by her nephew, Scott Lyons, who was taught by Jannuzzi at the school, on her Facebook page.

“You have a responsibility as a teacher to lead by example and the words that you have been throwing out there are detrimental to the well being and health of the youth that you inspire,” Lyons, who has an adopted son with his husband, wrote in the letter to Jannuzzi. “I am certain that the pope himself would take issue with your extreme point of view on homosexuality.”

“High school is a tough time anyway,” Sarandon added in the post sharing Lyons’ letter to Jannuzzi. “Students don’t need teachers making it even more difficult.”

The petition, addressed to Principal Kline, Assistant Principal Sister Anne Brigid Gallagher, Director of Alumni Relations John Hack and Immaculate Conception parish pastor Seamus Brennan, calls for an end to this kind of behavior.

“There is a line between believing in God and professing anti-homosexual sentiment to the public,” the petition said. “We should be preaching the good word of the Lord, not creating a hostile and combative environment. Even those of us who don’t identify as Christian can still live moral, compassionate, and loving lives like Jesus asks us to do.”

According to the release from Immaculata High School, Kline said the school is reviewing its social media policy for faculty and staff members.

“It is the policy of the school that all faculty and staff demonstrate respect and sensitivity to all people at all times and to avoid offending any individuals or groups,” Kline said in the statement. “Our faculty and staff have a responsibility to uphold all school policy and maintain the same level of professionalism online as in the classroom.”

The school did not specify whether or not Jannuzzi would face disciplinary actions for her comments.

For more information on this story, visit the Daily Record.