Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus’ song, ‘Rainbowland’ stirs controversy over Waukesha school concert
3 min read
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Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus’ latest duet titled, ‘Rainbowland’ that reportedly celebrates acceptance, was banned from a concert set list at a Wisconsin elementary school.
Here is everything you need to know.
Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus’ ‘Rainbowland’ is inappropriate for elementary students
The first-grade students at Heyer Elementary in Waukesha were gearing up for their spring concert this week. Moreover, they had initially included ‘Rainbowland’ by Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus in the setlist as well.
Meanwhile, the students played the song on Monday. However, the principal of the school sent an email on Tuesday to the music teacher telling her that the 2017 duet was no longer allowed.
An elementary school in Wisconsin has banned Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton’s 2017 duet ‘Rainbowland’ from being sung by students at their Spring concert because they think it “could be perceived as controversial.”
Lyrics include: “Wouldn’t it be nice to live in paradise, where… pic.twitter.com/NeLoJCbzHi— Pop Base (@PopBase) March 25, 2023Advertisement
In addition, some parents claim that their children were upset on Wednesday after they learned that they could not sing Rainbowland. Furthermore, they started wondering why it was removed.
District superintendent Jim Sebert addressed the issue by saying that the song was dropped as it ‘could be perceived as controversial’ owing to the school policies.
He continued, ‘The main question was is the song appropriate for the age level and maturity of the students.’
Besides that, the students will now perform Jim Henson’s ‘Rainbow Connection’ from the Muppets. They have also added Beatles, ‘Here Comes the Sun’ and ‘It’s a Wonderful World.’
Waukesha residents react to ‘Rainbowland’ controversy
Many of the Waukesha residents took to social media sites to give their take over Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus’ song ‘Rainbowland’ being banned for being controversial for elementary kids.
Tempel, a first-grade dual language teacher at Heyer Elementary in Waukesha, wrote a message on Tuesday.
She said, ‘My first graders were so excited to sing Rainbowland for our spring concert. But it has been vetoed by our administration. When will it end?’
Leigh Radichel Tracy, a mother who resides in Waukesha talked to The Times about the ongoing controversy in the community.
She mentioned, ‘The School District of Waukesha has really cracked down on anything LBGTQ. So this song is an ‘issue’ and has not in any way come as a surprise.’
Sarah Schindler’s daughter Audrey was a participant in the spring concert at Heyer Elementary.
She stated, ‘With that have come some policy changes that have been causing some controversy in our community.’
She added, ‘One of those is a controversial topics policy. It said that teachers can’t have any kind of signage that could be deemed political.’
Schindler claimed, ‘Discussion of pronouns with students was another thing that came up. And teachers aren’t allowed to wear rainbows.’
