Dolly Parton’s 2017 duet with Miley Cyrus ‘Rainbowland’ is banned from first-grade spring concert list amid claims it’s too controversial
- One parent said the ban comes after a “conservative shift” by the school district after the pandemic.
- Another parent said the song was about acceptance and not controversial.
Dolly Parton’s duet with Miley Cyrus Rainbowland has been banned from a first grade spring concert after it was ‘banned by administration’.
On the set list for the spring concert at Heyer Elementary in Waukesha, Wisconsin were Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World, Kermit the Frog’s Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie and Dolly Parton’s duet with Miley Cyrus called Rainbowland.
The latter is a collaboration between Parton and her goddaughter Cyrus, who said she’s even considering playing Parton in a biopic of the country icon after she previously dressed as her godmother on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show.
Both Rainbow Connection and Rainbowland were banned after the school district deemed them too controversial, parent Leigh Radichel Tracy said. The Los Angeles Times it was sad that the song, which is about a ‘beautiful place of acceptance’, was banned.
Melissa Tempel, a first grade teacher at the school, is in charge of the class that was supposed to perform the song at the concert.
Dolly Parton’s 2017 duet Rainbowland with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus was banned after the school district deemed them too controversial, according to a parent.
Melissa Tempel is a first grade teacher at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in charge of the class that was supposed to perform the song at the spring concert.
She said on Twitter: ‘My first graders were so excited to sing Rainbowland for our spring concert but our administration has banned it. When will it end?’
Parents were equally confused why the songs were banned.
Sarah Schindler, whose daughter is a first grader in Tempel’s class, told the The Los Angeles Times the school board took a “conservative turn” after the Covid-19 pandemic, adding: “With that came some policy changes that have caused some controversy in our community.”
Among those changes are bans on teachers having “any type of political signage” or wearing rainbows, as well as discussing pronouns with their students.
Tempel added to his Twitter post: ‘4 years ago we had an active diversity team and had @sharroky as our district equity consultant. Now we are Florida.
Rainbowland’s ban has “come by no means a surprise” to Leigh Radichel Tracy, who told the LA Times there was an ongoing controversy in the community after the school district has “really cracked down on anything LGBTQ.” .
She said her 17-year-old daughter, who is in the marching band with many LGBTQ friends, was “deeply hurt” by the ban: “All Miley and Dolly are saying is that they want to live in a world that is accepting, non-judgmental. and where people can be whoever they want to be.’
Tracy said she was sad that the song, which is about a “beautiful place of acceptance”, was banned for being too controversial.
Rainbowland was released as part of Miley Cyrus’ Younger Now album.
The song, a duet with Cyrus’ godmother Dolly Parton, who also appeared in her New Year’s Eve show, features lyrics like: “Wouldn’t it be nice to live in paradise / Where we’re free to be exactly who we are?” or ‘Let’s all dig in deeper / Let’s put judgment and fear aside’.
After hearing the song, Schindler still couldn’t understand how the song could be considered controversial, especially since he always associated spring with rainbows.
While acknowledging that Cyrus has spoken out about drugs and sex in the past and that her duet partner Parton supports drag queens, she said these policies that ban songs like Rainbowland make everyone doubt their choices.