It didn't surprise me that last weekend's rediscovery of actor Ellie Kemper's involvement in the Veiled Prophet Organization, or VPO, went viral. The VPO is both baffling and horrifying: Its ...

So what is Veiled Prophet? Kemper was a student at Princeton University when she was named Queen of Love and Beauty at the Veiled Prophet Ball (she graduated in 2002).

Many have seen the accompanying Veiled Prophet Ball as a party for the rich. But when the first ball and parade were held on Oct. 8, 1878, there was a different purpose.

The “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” star was Queen of the Veiled Prophet Ball as a teen in 1999. It was founded by a Confederate soldier but its ties to the KKK are tenuous at best.

Each year, one member was secretly chosen to play the Veiled Prophet, whose identity was masked with a literal veil. Members' daughters were often picked as the ball's Queen of Love and Beauty.

Looking into the claims reveals a 140-year-old group called the Veiled Prophet Organisation, and an invite-only event presided over by a masked elite. Confused? Good. Read on. Ellie Kemper?

Hundreds of people on Twitter took aim at Ellie Kemper and the annual Veiled Prophet Ball and its ties to class and racial conflict in St. Louis.

In his 46th visit to St. Louis, the Veiled Prophet crowned Maud Streett the queen of love and beauty. The ball was held at the Coliseum; Streett was the daughter of the 1902 queen.