A Montreal private school is trying to make amends with a theatre instructor who was recently fired after students discovered she had starred in erotic films more than 40 years ago.
In a statement released on Tuesday, College Jean-de-Brebeuf said that it had contacted Jacqueline Laurent-Auger to initiate a discussion about returning to work at the school, where she had been on contract for 15 years.
The former instructor told the school she was unavailable to meet before the beginning of next week. The statement said that school administrators will respect her wishes and will wait for word on when she'll be available.
Laurent-Auger, 73, was let go this summer after some of her students learned that she had acted in a handful of European erotic films that were made in the 60s and 70s.
Two films she appeared in include "Le Journal intime d'une nymphomane" (Diary of a Nymphomaniac) and "Dany la ravageuse" (Dany the ravager).
In the statement, the school acknowledged the negative attention her dismissal had received, both in the press and in the wider community. It also said the entire issue should have been handled differently.
Following her dismissal, supporters of Laurent-Auger launched an online petition calling for her to be re-hired. The petition notes that she was first hired 15 years ago, long after the films in question had already been made.
"If Ms. Laurent-Auger's past was not a barrier to being hired 15 years ago, there is no reason, in the absence of valid and rigorous evidence, it constitutes one today," the petition said.
