A New Jersey high school teacher was forced to resign this month for showing his class a popular John Oliver clip that urged viewers to “Make Donald Drumpf Again.”
The “Last Week Tonight” bit, which lampoons presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s ancestral surname, has been viewed more than 24 million times on YouTube since February.
But despite the massive exposure, humorless Middletown South High School brass still pushed out teacher Joe Ventre after getting complaints from a thin-skinned parent who learned about the screening from her child, sources told The Post.
“It’s a travesty,” said district parent Kathi Van Zandt, the sister of musician and actor Steven Van Zandt. “It’s just ridiculous.”
Administrators told Ventre to beat it at the end of the school year, sources said. He agreed to step down this coming July.
Students said Ventre adored his job and has been visibly distraught in recent weeks.
As word of the bizarre dispute began to spread, furious parents and students rallied to Ventre’s defense at a packed board meeting Wednesday night.
Arguing that administrators were acting more like Politburo hardliners than suburban school officials, speakers said Ventre was exercising free speech and had an otherwise impeccable record.
Emotional students urged the panel to reject his resignation. They plan to renew their protest at a meeting Tuesday.
“I’m really proud of the kids showing up last night and telling the board how they feel about this very special teacher,” parent Marguerite Portagallo told The Post. “I hope they come around and realize it would be a shame to lose him.”
Kathi Van Zandt even reached out to Oliver’s comedic forefather, Middletown resident Jon Stewart, to join the fight.
“To lose him, to allow ONE PARENT to make that decision because she was offended at a TV SHOW, is absolutely ludicrous and you know it,” Van Zandt told board of education members in a letter.
Administrators declined to discuss the details of Ventre’s resignation. Ventre didn’t respond to requests for comment.