What did Miata Borders do? Queer substitute teacher fired on her first day of job for allegedly passing snide remark at a student

Substitute teacher, Miata Borders, who goes by @thehandmade.ceo on TikTok, was fired after her TikTok video went viral. The information was confirmed by DeSoto County Schools, as reported by the Daily Mail.

The 24-year-old teacher recorded her first day at Lake Cormorant High School in Mississippi on October 17, 2025. In her video, she recorded the students walking by and made a snide remark about one of them. The since-deleted video received backlash from netizens who called out Borders for making the comment towards a minor.

"Damn shorty, jeesh. Man, I get up after these school kids tryna take me down," Miata said.

NEW: Lesbian teacher fired on her first day after posting TikTok appearing to s*xualize a young girl “Damn shorty, jeesh…”

Miata Borders, 24, was fired from her job as a substitute teacher at Lake Cormorant High School in Mississippi after posting TikToks from her workday on… pic.twitter.com/x2mOoagSdJ

— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) October 24, 2025

Notably, Miata Borders is openly queer, and internet users claimed that the remark was inappropriate. Currently, she has over 37,000 followers on TikTok and more than 115,000 followers on Instagram.

After getting fired on her first day, Miata uploaded two update videos. In her first response video, uploaded on October 23, 2025, Borders claimed that people missed the "context" and "mischaracterized" her.

The former substitute teacher responded to the hate comments

In her first video, Borders said that she did not record the footage while teaching. All the clips were recorded during her free time and when she was alone. She noted that it was her first time as a substitute teacher and did not know that recording students was not allowed.

It is worth noting that Miata shared that the students were not told that they were being recorded. Borders said that the claim supposedly made by netizens that she is a predator is "insane," and she is not like that. Miata also said that her "slang and terminology" is different from others' and apologized for it.

The former substitute teacher noted that her remark was not sexual, saying that it was "sick" to even think about. Miata said that as a content creator, some of the students knew her and were "hustling" around her.

She said that taking her down meant they were trying to drag her around physically. Miata ended her video by apologizing to the parents and the students of the school.

Mississippi substitute teacher Miata Borders, 24, was fired after posting TikToks from class that appeared to s*xualize a student.
One clip showed a cheerleader with Borders saying, “Damn shorty, jeesh.”

She learned the hard way that “creator mode” doesn’t belong in a classroom.… pic.twitter.com/YtPWxo6dQ9

— Desiree (@DesireeAmerica4) October 24, 2025

In her second response video, uploaded on October 24, 2025, the former teacher said that she disagreed with the netizens who claimed Miata was a bad influence. Borders said she was a "good mentor" and that people should not judge her for her tattoos.

She said that she is not a sexual person, and it did not make sense for her to upload suggestive content to students so publicly. Miata clarified that her viral video was not made with bad intentions.

The former teacher then asked netizens why they were leaving hate comments on her page. Miata also shared that she worked as a direct support professional (DSP), and she was fired from it, too. For the unversed, DSP is a caregiver who takes care of intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Borders' TikTok videos have gone viral on social media, and netizens continue to bash her for them.

"I give her a lot of respect for apologizing the way she did. What she did was wrong though, whether she knew it or not. She should have known it. A reasonable person would have known it. She has to live with the consequences unfortunately," one netizen wrote.

"If you want to sum up America in a photo, that's a good candidate. Simply caption it "Teacher." You'll know what you need to know about a society that would have her teaching children," another added.

Borders requested her followers to support her clothing business and to donate to her GoFundMe page. The former substitute teacher's fundraiser stated that due to the firing, Miata is currently homeless and is in the process of relocating. Out of the $800 target, so far $230 has been raised. Stay tuned for more updates.