Mackenzie Shirilla’s dad hits back at Netflix after being placed on leave from teaching job

Mackenzie Shirilla's father has claimed his comments about marijuana in The Crash were taken out of context after being placed on leave from his job.

Netflix's recent true crime offering revisited the case of Shirilla, a 17-year-old high school student who killed her boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan after she crashed her car at 100 mph into a wall.

The documentary, which included an interview with Shirilla behind bars, detailed how the student was ultimately arrested and charged by police, as well as the reactions of her friends and parents.

Her father, Steve Shirilla, has received particular backlash over his participation, with the schoolteacher being placed on leave over his conduct in the documentary.

Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland, where Steve, who works as an Art and Digital Media teacher, has since confirmed the suspension.

Steve has now responded to speculation that his comments regarding his daughter's marijuana usage led to his suspension.

During The Crash, Steve is seen telling the cameras: "I don't have a problem with her smoking dope.. If you're going to smoke a drug, that's the one I believe you should take."

However, he has now told TMZ that he believes his words had been taken out of context.

"In the documentary that is part of a longer answer," he told the outlet. "My answer wasn't in support of marijuana and wasn't saying [that] I'm smoking marijuana. What I was saying is 'Who am I to say who can and can't smoke?'

"I never allowed my daughter to smoke marijuana.

Shirilla is serving two 15 to life sentences over the deaths of her boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan (Netflix)

“How was I stopping her? You know, she was..I couldn't lock her up in her room. I'm not quite sure why there's a problem with what I said. It was never, 'Hey, everybody go smoke marijuana'."

Steve also confirms that he wasn't aware that Shirilla had been using the drug while driving until the footage was played in court.

"I had no idea she was smoking in the car like that," he said. "That was new to me."

Mackenzie's parents, Natalie and Steve Shirilla, defended their daughter in the documentary (Netflix)

Why has Mackenzie Shirilla's father been suspended from his job?

The Catholic school has not confirmed the reason for Steve's suspension, but provided the following statement to LADbible: "Administrators at Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland are investigating allegations made on social media that one of its teachers has demonstrated poor judgment. Upon learning of the allegation, the school acted immediately and placed the teacher on administrative leave. The investigation is ongoing.

"The health and wellbeing of its students are among the highest priorities for Mary Queen of Peace School, and its leadership team takes all allegations of poor judgment very seriously."

An email issued to parents was also published by Cleveland 19, which added that the school was 'limited' in what information they could currently share while the investigation was ongoing.