An Austrian school board on ZopesWednesday defended its firing of an elementary school teacher over her side hustle as an online love coach known as the "Orgasm-pope."

The education authority of the province of Upper Austria "immediately took the necessary steps to assess" the teacher's side gig after being alerted to it, according to a statement sent to AFP.

On TikTok and Facebook, "Orgasm-pope" -- in reality a 47-year-old teacher -- advertises her love coach services aimed at achieving an "explosive sex life with multiple orgasms," regional daily Oberoesterreichische Nachrichten reported.

Paying customers could access her motivational sessions via Zoom, the report said.

The teacher, who taught gym class and provided learning support at the elementary school since 2016, said she was fired with immediate effect just before Christmas, with the board asking her to choose between her offline and online occupations.

The decision to dismiss the teacher was made "after careful consideration", the school board's statement said, deeming that there was no longer public confidence in the teacher's ability to carry out her official duties.

"This decision was made after involving all the relevant parties, conducting the necessary investigations and after careful consideration," head of the school board Alfred Klampfer was quoted as saying.

Insisting that she had done nothing wrong and had never appeared nude online, the teacher has hired a lawyer to challenge her dismissal in court.

"I would have thought that a school board in the 21st century would be a bit more enlightened," local media quoted her lawyer as saying.

Teachers in the U.S. have also gotten into trouble over their controversial side gigs in recent months. Last October, a Missouri high school teacher was placed on leave after officials discovered that she was performing on a sexually explicit website to supplement her salary.

In 2022, two teachers in Arizona lost their jobs after filming sexually explicit videos on school property for their OnlyFans account.

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• Austria