A beloved Miley Cyrus track was banned from being performed by an elementary school class concert in Waukesha, Wisconsin last week. Some fans have taken to Twitter to express their shock, as the song “Rainbowland” from Cyrus’ 2017 album Younger Now celebrates themes like peace, acceptance and unity. The track also features vocal and lyrical contributions from Dolly Parton, and as Paper Magazine notes, its concepts were allegedly deemed “not appropriate” by the Wisconsin school administration.
Melissa Tempel, a first-grade teacher at Heyer Elementary School revealed in a March 21st tweet that “Rainbowland” was vetoed by the school’s administration for its spring concert. She also uploaded a screenshot of the song’s lyrics, which include, “Wouldn’t it be nice to live in paradise/ Where we’re free to be exactly who we are/ Let’s all dig down deep inside/ Brush the judgment and fear aside.”
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? @waukeshaschools @DollyParton @MileyCyrus @mileyworld @gsafewi @CivilRights #publicschools pic.twitter.com/8Na0nETmDw
— Maestra Melissa (@melissatempel) March 21, 2023
Miley Cyrus And Dolly Parton’s Show “Rainbowland” Banned From Wisconsin Elementary School Performance
Tempel captioned her tweet, “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?” She says that she was told the song was banned because Cyrus is “controversial” and due to contentions surrounding Parton “and her beautiful drag queen followers.”
In follow-up tweets, however, the teacher added that there was “[n]o reason given” by administrators and that one day after “Rainbowland” was vetoed, The Muppet Movie’s “Rainbow Connection” was also removed from her students’ spring concert song list.
“Rainbowland,” a song by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton, expresses hope that one day the world could be full of rainbows instead of hate. That was deemed “controversial” by a Wisconsin school that has banned 1st graders from singing it. @AlyssaLukpat https://t.co/Urhe4FXDPb
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) March 30, 2023
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sarah Schindler, whose daughter is in Tempel’s first-grade class, explained that after a recent “conservative flip” in the school board sparked by COVID-19, “teachers can’t have any kind of signage that could be deemed political.” This, she says, includes wearing any rainbow paraphernalia.
“We are rainbows, me and you
Every color, every hue
Let’s shine on through… TOGETHER WE CAN START LIVING IN A RAINBOWLAND.”When our founder @mileycyrus and her fairy godmother @dollyparton wrote these words together, they meant it. pic.twitter.com/zRjTkcWttm
— Happy Hippie Foundation (@happyhippiefdn) March 29, 2023
Teacher Gives Fans And Supporters An Update On Twitter
Tempel gave supporters on Twitter an update after receiving many comments that applauded her “Rainbowland” defense. She let followers on Twitter know that “Rainbow Connection” has since been added back to the concert list. This was thanks to the efforts of parents and the Alliance for Education in Waukesha. Cyrus and Parton’s song, however, is yet to be unbanned.
Fans headed to the app to express their “disbelief” and “frustration” with the news that a school banned the song to begin with, considering its peaceful and heartfelt themes. “Seems like a beautiful, loving song to me. What was the reason for denial? The rainbow represents LBGTQ+?” one user wrote as another added, “They fear children being educated about diversity but what they are teaching is hate, which turns into something ugly and dangerous.”
Another chimed in, “are you SERIOUSLY stopping children from singing a song about wanting a world without hate and hurt, and wanting to make a difference in their world for the positive,” as one other replied, “Guess it’s too much for kids to handle – being happy with and accepting of each other.”
READ MORE: Kelly Clarkson Fans Are Losing It Over Her Iconic ‘9 To 5’ Duet With Dolly Parton: ‘Epic’
In honor & celebration of your BRIGHT future Happy Hippie is making a donation to @lessprejudice to help make classrooms more inclusive!
— Happy Hippie Foundation (@happyhippiefdn) March 29, 2023
Cyrus & Parton Respond To The Banning With A Donation
In response to the banning of their song at the elementary school, Cyrus, 30, and Parton, 77, donated to Pride and Less Prejudice, an organization that provides LQBTQ-inclusive books to Pre-K through 3rd grade classrooms. This was announced via Twitter from Cyrus’ charitable foundation, Happy Hippie.
In 2017, Cyrus and Parton spoke with NME and detailed the true meaning of their song. “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 shared. Cyrus agreed, and noted that the lyrics refer to “different races and genders and religions.”
