Administrators at an elementary school in Wisconsin have banned students from performing a duet by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton that advocates LGBTQ acceptance, saying the song “could be perceived as controversial.”
Students choose Dolly Parton/Miley Cyrus duet “Rainbowland” for spring concert
A class of first-graders in Wisconsin selected a duet by Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus to sing for their spring concert, but once administrators learned of the song’s message, they banned the students from singing it.
The song in question is “Rainbowland” from the 2017 album Younger Now by Miley Cyrus, which she co-wrote and sang as a duet with her godmother, Dolly Parton, with lyrics that advocate for inclusion.
Melissa Tempel’s first grade class at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, has spent weeks preparing for its upcoming spring concert, CNN reported.
“Rainbowland” was suggested by another faculty member and approved by Tempel and her co-teacher.
Tempel and her students had narrowed down their song choices to three: “It’s a Small World,” sung in Spanish; “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles; or “Rainbowland” by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton.
“My students loved it immediately,” Tempel told CNN of her classroom’s reaction to the duet.
LGBTQ-themed song choice hits a sour note with school administrators who banned its performance
Administrators from the school district in Wisconsin banned a first grade class from performing a duet by Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus that advocates LGBTQ acceptance over concerns the song “could be perceived as controversial.”
School administrators asked Tempel to remove “Rainbowland” from the concert.
In a statement, the school district stated that, according to a school board policy on controversial issues in the classroom, the song “could be deemed controversial,” NPR reported.
Superintendent James Sebert confirmed to Fox 6 that the song was removed because it might not be “appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students.”
Parton and Cyrus speak about the song
In 2017, both Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus were asked about the song’s lyrics.
“It’s really about if we could love one another a little better or be a little kinder, be a little sweeter, we could live in rainbow land,” Parton said at the time.
In a separate interview, Miley Cyrus said some of the lyrics give a nod to “different races and genders and religions.”
“Hey, we’re different, that’s awesome, let’s not change to be the same, let’s stay different but let’s come together anyway,” Cyrus told NME. “Because a rainbow’s not a rainbow without all the different colors.”
