Hooters Waitress Speaks At School, Parents Enraged

After a Hooters waitress spoke to special needs students at the Calvin A. Hunsinger School about her job, one parent is up in arms, saying it sends a bad message.

"It's just the wrong message," Ashley Dominicci, 32, told the St. Petersburg Times. "I feel like we're telling them (the students) that you're the bad kids and this is all you'll be in life."

School principal Stephanie Bessette wouldn't give the paper a comment, but wrote to Dominicci in an email, saying that many waitresses are simply making money so they can pursue other careers.

"Working as a waiter or waitress in order to achieve higher goals should be commended," Bessette wrote, according to the Times.

Emerson Elementary School in Compton, California experienced similar criticism this month, after former adult film star Sasha Grey was a guest reader for 1st and 3rd grade students.

Her presence at the school sparked outrage among parents, who did not think Grey's former line of work made her an appropriate choice for the Reading Across American program.

After the onslaught of criticism, Grey released a statement in her defense.

"I committed to this program with the understanding that people would have their own opinions about what I have done, who I am and what I represen. I am an actor. I am an artist. I am a daughter. I am a sister. I am a partner. I have a past that some people may not agree with, but it does not define who I am... I believe in the future of our children, and I will remain an active supporter and participant in education-focused initiatives."

Interim superintendent John Stewart told the Times that he didn't find anything wrong with bringing in the Hooters waitress, saying waitress is "an honorable way to make a living."