According to a lawsuit, Fatima Ptacek and two other girls from the private high school were caught vaping in the bathroom.
Fatima voiced the character of Dora the Explorer between 2012-2015, and voiced her in the spin off Dora and Friends: Into the City! since 2014, according to her website.
The parents of one of the other girls, a 14 year old at Manhattan’s Avenues: The World School, have filed a lawsuit that says she was the only one forced out of the school, where tuition fees cost more than $47,000 a year.
Using the child’s initials M.S. to identify her in the lawsuit, they also said that Fatima was given special treatment, and the other girl in question was not disciplined at all for the incident, which occurred in December.
“The fact that [Fatima] is a known actress for being the voice of Dora Explorer may have played a role in why she was ultimately not expelled even after the school threatened as much, and M.S. was expelled instead as a scapegoat,' states the lawsuit by parents Nadia Leonelli and Fredrik Sundwall.
The three girls were apparently using a vapour pen to inhale caramel flavoured water when a senior at the school caught them, according to the New York Daily News.
Nadia and Fredrik filed the lawsuit on Monday, which claim their daughter succumbed to peer pressure because she wanted to appear ‘cool’ in front of Fatima and that their 14 year old has never been in trouble before.
Their daughter and Fatima reportedly gave the same account in their confession to using the vaporizer, but Nadia and Fredrik have claimed school officials treated M.S. more harshly because she was found not to be “trustworthy”.
The parents are seeking $40,000 in damages to cover tuition payments and legal fees, according to the court filing.
Fatima’s publicist has not commented on the claims, neither has a spokesperson for Nickelodeon.