North Carolina pep rally goes viral after students perform sexually provocative dances, raising concerns from parents 

Parents and community members are shocked after students performed in bondage and drag queen attire at a North Carolina high school pep rally.  

Oak Grove High School in Davidson County held its homecoming pep rally on Oct. 7, during which one male student wearing a Catwoman costume is shown giving another student, dressed as Batman, a lap dance.  

When their performance is finished the first student grabs hold of a leash, attached to the collar around the second student’s neck, and leads him away from the center of the gymnasium.  

During another performance, a male student dressed in a pink sparkly bikini top and matching pants can be seen twerking on the floor.  

Oak Grove Principal Stefanie Stroud sent a voicemail to parents after the pep rally, addressing the events that occurred.  

“Disgusted, appalled, upset, embarrassed and disappointed were all the words I used to describe to my family what I witnessed at the Oak Grove High School pep rally on Friday,” Stroud said. “These feelings accurately describe how I felt as the principal, and as a parent. What took place on Friday is unacceptable and does not meet the standards of excellence we have worked to establish at Oak Grove.  

“As the leader of the school, I take full responsibility for the actions of my students. I apologize to all of my students who were not involved, and to our Oak Grove community. My first order of business this week will be to address the issue appropriately. I can assure you this will not happen again under my leadership at Oak Grove High School. I ask for your continued support as I work to address the situation with students and staff.” 

Outraged parents and community members are wondering how sexually provocative dancing was allowed to occur on school grounds.  

“That’s craziness to even allow that. Somebody had to allow it,” Alan Smith, a father of a student in the district said, according to WFMY News 2. “There wasn’t no teachers in there at all. There wasn’t nobody there. Somebody was in there.”  

Davidson County Schools interim superintendent Tabitha Broadway said the outrage over the viral video has resulted in death threats being sent to the school, according to WFMY News 2. As a result, the school board confirmed that sheriff’s deputies have been on school property to ensure student and staff safety.  

“I mean, you have schools that are closing for threats and then you have this nasty stuff going on,” said Patricia Aldridge, a grandparent of Davidson County students, according to WFMY News 2. “It blows my mind.” 

The school confirmed it is investigating the incident and is working to ensure policies are in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.  

“We continue to evaluate the events to determine policies that may have been violated and appropriate consequences,” Broadway said. “This information will not be shared because educational records and personnel records are not public records. Because we believe the type of behavior displayed by students during the pep rally has no place in our schools, we absolutely plan to make adjustments to prevent future opportunities for such behavior.” 

According to Oak Grove High School’s 2023-24 student handbook, students are prohibited from “engaging in behavior which is immoral, indecent, lewd, disreputable or of an overly sexual nature, whether on or off school property” and aren’t allowed to wear tops that don’t cover the waist and midriff.  

The school board said the investigation is ongoing, and had no further comments.