Mississippi school allegedly edited transgender salutatorian’s face after deadnaming him online

A Mississippi high school is facing backlash after a Facebook post celebrating its 2026 salutatorian deadnamed the transgender student and appeared to digitally alter his appearance.

The post, published Sunday by D'Iberville High School in Biloxi, congratulated salutatorian Jonas Hole with the caption, “Pride. Tradition. Excellence. Congratulations to our DHS Salutatorian,” before identifying him by his deadname.

The post quickly drew criticism online, generating more than 1,300 comments, over 650 reactions, and nearly 90 shares as commenters accused the school of transphobia and rallied in support of Hole, who identifies as transmasculine.

Many commenters also alleged the school edited Hole’s senior portrait before posting it online. “They photoshopped his mustache off to make him look more ‘feminine,’” commenter Micheala Boffman wrote.

Tara Shay Montgomery, a Biloxi drag queen and local LGBTQ+ advocate, said she was contacted by several parents connected to Hole and other students.

This selfie shows Jonas Hole as he actually appears, with a mustache, which his school removed for a social media post.Jonas Hole

“Several concerned moms of friends of Jonas reached out to me initially about a total of around 6 students excluded from their senior yearbook due to gender specific dress code policies,” Montgomery told The Advocate. “Then the Jonas post from DHS dropped and one of the same moms shared it with me and my stomach dropped in anger disgust and sadness for him.”

Montgomery shared a selfie Hole had posted wearing his U.S. Army Junior ROTC uniform bearing medals, ribbons, and other honors for being a “superior cadet,” as well as a member of the sabre team and color guard. The image clearly shows his mustache, which commenters said appeared missing in the version posted by the school.

“You'll notice that his mustache has been edited out to look like a shadow and his lips have been pinkened.” said Montgomery.

Most commenters congratulated Hole while criticizing the school’s handling of the post. “Deadnaming a student loud af on social media is crazy work. CONGRATULATIONS JONAS!!!!” wrote Storm Hall.

Others encouraged people to contact school officials directly. “Call the high school and complain. This is bullying. The number is listed on their page. There is an email listed too,” McKenna Stone wrote.

The backlash also renewed criticism over allegations that several students, including Hole, were excluded from the school’s yearbook because they did not comply with gender specific dress requirements for senior portraits.

A Mississippi man named Douglas Myatt, one of dozens of people who reshared the post, accused the school of targeting transgender students.

“D’Iberville should be ashamed,” he wrote. “‘Pride’ yet they deadname this student and edit out a mustache. They also removed him and several students from the yearbook completely for wearing a tux in their senior photo. Teens are literally killing themselves because of transphobia, but the school chooses to continue on with the bigotry. Disappointed to say the least. My faith in humanity is restored a little bit by the messages of support for Jonas.”

Not all of the responses were supportive. Some commenters posted anti-LGBTQ+ remarks or questioned whether Hole’s legal name should take precedence over his chosen name in the post.

The Advocate repeatedly reached out to D'Iberville High School Principal Jennifer Courtney and Harrison County Superintendent William Bentz by phone and email, but received no response.

Graduation for D'Iberville High School is scheduled for Saturday. Montgomery said local allies and parents are organizing a peaceful demonstration in support of Hole during the ceremony.

“I am also working with some of the concerned moms and other local allies to stage a peaceful sit-in at the actual graduation this Saturday, so they have support in real time in their community and not just at pride,” she said. “We feel it's important to meet them where they are, in their current circumstances and surroundings, to show up for them and not just in a bubble of a safe space. They need to know we are there in real life. Not just at Pride!”