A 51-year-old Tennessee school board member got into a jaw-dropping Facebook catfight with a 19-year-old who criticized her work.
Towanna Murphy, the District 7 school board member for Memphis Shelby County Schools, shared screenshots of the shocking conversation, where she threatened to deport Andrea Avalos – a Hispanic teen – over her comments.
Their dramatic conversation began when Avalos, who also made the messages public, reached out on Monday calling her ‘an embarrassment to Memphis’.
‘Please resign from your job you stupid b****,’ Avalos continued before sending a second message saying: ‘Also please stop using those filters love. They don’t make you any pretty.’
The following morning, Murphy told Avalos: ‘Baby be quiet before I have you deported.’
The school board member sent an image of the teen to Avalos and fired back at her physical appearance.
‘Really??? Really??? Stop talking you built like a light bulb,’ Murphy sent, along with a slew of laughing emojis.
The shocking messages didn’t stop there, as Murphy went on an all out rant against Avalos and her family, insisting she has ‘not disrespected’ her.
Towanna Murphy, the District 7 school board member Memphis Shelby County Schools, got into a shocking catfight with a 19-year-old on Facebook on Monday
Their dramatic conversation began when Andrea Avalos, who also made the messages public on her profile, reached out to Murphy, calling her ‘an embarrassment to Memphis and to our students’
‘You mama a B****, I will give you that same energy. I have not disrespected you, it’s ok if you have an opinion but calling me out my name I WILL NOT ACCEPT IM WITH THE SH**. IM FROM SOUTH MEMPHIS ….,’ she told Avalos.
A little while later Avalos responded to Murphy, telling her: ‘b**** I can’t get deported hoe and guess what. I still look good asffff,’ she wrote in the message, obtained by WREG.
Avalos then responded directly to Murphy’s opinion of her looking ‘like a light bulb.’
‘Might be shaped like one but still look wayyy better than you love,’ the teen added.
In response to the message about the school board member being ‘from south Memphis,’ Avalos told Murphy: ‘Woowww so scaryyy you’re from south Memphis b**** gtfo.’
About an hour later, Murphy replied: ‘I block dusty b****’s like you,’ with several laughing emojis.
‘I’m scared. That’s really scary, especially with everything that’s going on, especially since I have a little nephew who attends Memphis Shelby County Schools,’ she said.
Their interaction appeared to end after that, but the entire ordeal left Avalos ‘scared,’ she told the outlet.
In her messages to Murphy (pictured), Avalos attacked her professionally and also attacked her physical appearance
Murphy then ‘clapped back’ and threatened to deport Avalos, a Hispanic teenager
‘I’m scared. That’s really scary, especially with everything that’s going on, especially since I have a little nephew who attends Memphis Shelby County Schools,’ she said.
Their correspondence also sparked a larger conversation throughout the community as many were left appalled by Murphy’s response to a teenage girl.
Jose Salazar, a community organizer and immigrant, weighed in about it on Facebook, stating that Murphy needs to take accountability for her actions, apologize and step down from her school board role.
‘She’s a public figure, and I think she needs to be careful about how she represents herself. She does represent a large community of immigrant kids. So, I mean, you know it’s kind of sad that she even expresses herself like that,’ Salazar wrote.
Another person reminded Murphy that she’s a ‘public figure,’ but maybe this isn’t the right job for her anymore.
‘You’re a public figure and you’ll always have this coming your way. This isn’t the first time you’ve responded in an unprofessional manner,’ the user wrote.
‘You don’t seem to learn from your previous mistakes. Just maybe this job isn’t cut out for you.’
Shortly after the messages went public, Murphy posted a video to her Facebook page, revealing that she’s been receiving ‘a lot of threats’ online for the past three months.
Avalos said their entire conversation left her ‘scared,’ especially because she has a nephew who goes to school in the district
‘Most of the time I just block it and keep going, but recently, I’ve clapped back at a few people,’ she explained.
‘When you come in my inbox, my personal inbox, calling me by my name, threatening my family – that’s unacceptable.
‘It’s OK to have a disagreement. If you disagree with me, fine, just tell me what you disagree with me about.’
Murphy also shared her frustration about Avalos sharing the messages with a local news outlet.
‘That’s not even newsworthy that I clapped back at you,’ she continued.
Murphy told WREG she had every right to defend herself even though Avalos did not threaten her.
Shortly after the messages went public, Murphy (pictured) posted a video to her Facebook page, revealing that she’s been receiving ‘a lot of threats’ online for the past three months
‘Don’t think you can just come into our inbox and disrespect us. That young lady doesn’t know nothing about me,’ she stated.
‘I don’t know nothing about her. What was her reason for doing that? She has no idea how I’ve been doing things. I’ve been fighting for black and brown kids all my life.’
In another post, Murphy took some accountability for her actions, stating: ‘Although I regret my response, I spoke in the heat of the moment. So my question is why did she take this action? I should have been the bigger person, but I am human, we all are.’
Avalos told the outlet she plans on filing a complaint about Murphy to the school district and local police.
DailyMail.com contacted both Murphy and Avalos for comment but did not immediately hear back.
