Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal

Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal

Opening title
Directed by Tom McLoughlin
Produced by Bob Wilson
Written by Teena Booth
Starring Jenna Dewan
Ashley Benson
Aimee Spring Fortier
Stephanie Honoré
Jessica Heap
Ashlynn Ross
Tatum O'Neal
Editing by Charles Bornstein
Country United States
Language English
Original channel Lifetime Television
Release date August 2, 2008
Running time 88 minutes

Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal is a Lifetime Television made-for-TV drama film starring Jenna Dewan, Ashley Benson, and Tatum O'Neal and directed by Tom McLoughlin. The film premiered on August 2, 2008. It is based on a true story, which occurred at McKinney North High School in McKinney, Texas in 2006, in which five teenage cheerleaders became notorious for truancies, violations of the school dress code, and general disrespect to the school community.[1]

Background

Michaela Ward was hired in probably 2005 to teach geography and coach the cheerleading squad at McKinney North High School.[2] She discovered that five cheerleaders, also called the "Fab Five", had been disruptive in school and off-campus. They committed rule-breakings, like truancies and disturbances during classes and had done off-campus extreme activities, like posting their own photos of themselves partying with alcohol and going to an adult store on Myspace. [3]

Unable to handle the Fab Five and the school administrators, in October 2006, Michaela Ward resigned (or was forced to resign),[3] despite her close relationships with her students,[4] and then reported the Fab Five's unruly behaviors and the school's handling of them to the media.[3] Ward told her story to Lifetime Television. The story inspired this television movie.[2]

Cast

Reception

The television movie aired on Saturday, August 2, 2008, and scored a 2.63 household rating (3,041,547 viewers). Moreover, it scored a 2.63 rating (280,405 viewers) among females aged 12–17 and a 2.17 rating (1,219,726 viewers) among females aged 18–49.[5] Linda Stasi of the New York Post gave the movie three out of four stars.[6]

The Newsweek reviewer found real events "grimmer" than the television movie itself. In real-life, the principal and the vice principal of the school were fired from their jobs. Girls from the Myspace photos (the "Fab Five") became victims of stalkers and "haunted by their reputations [from high school]". The McKinney North High School had become more strict and disclipinary than before.[2] As for the movie itself, Newsweek found it close to real events (despite name changes and omission of some events), the portrayal of Jenna Dewan's character "brave but naïve", and the story "an entertaining morality tale" yet "preachy".[2]

Steve Thompson of Yahoo! Voices praised this movie for addressing important messages to viewers about consequential actions, especially by schools and cheerleaders. Thompson found the portrayal of cheerleaders to be "purely evil" and vindictive, as well as finding some scenes, including one of a cheerleader assaulting another for "stealing [her] boyfriend", to be inspired by other real "mean girls" events, such as the beating of a 16-year-old girl in Lakeland, Florida, instead of the McKinney photo scandal.[7]

Aftermath

After the story broke, Michaela Ward faced unemployment and "became ostracized", especially after her lawsuits. She filed one lawsuit in 2008 to get her job back, but the case failed. Reportedly, she coaches cheerleading at a local gym in McKinney, Texas, and had privately coached a former student (not one of the Fab Five) at the request of a parent.[2] In December 2009, former principal Linda Theret was hired by the Laredo Independent School District as Executive Director of Curriculum.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Lifetime has 'Five' spirit, yes they do". The Hollywood Reporter. February 22, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2012. (subscription required)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "The 'Fab Five' Revisited". Newsweek. August 4, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Arian Campo-Flores; Gretel C. Kovach (January 1, 2007). "Mean Girls". Newsweek. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  4. ↑ Ward, Michaela. Michaela Ward: Setting the Story Straight. Interview with Dayna Gross. Lifetime Television. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Lifetime Original Movie 'Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal' Builds Pyramid to Become Network's Top W18-34 and W12-17 Movie of the Year". Also seen in The Futon Critic and Reuters.
  6. ↑ Linda Stasi (July 31, 2008). "Mean Girls High: True Story of 'Texas Cheerleaders'". New York Post. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  7. ↑ Steve Thompson (August 2, 2008). "Review of Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal on Lifetime". Yahoo! Voices. Retrieved October 21, 2012. For more information about beatings of a 16-year-old girl from Lakeland, Florida, read the article from MSNBC.com.
  8. ↑ "Laredo Independent School District hires Linda Theret". KGNS-TV. December 7, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2012.

External links