Dolly Parton has long had fans in the LGBTQ+ and drag communities. She famously says, "If I hadn't been a woman I would have been a drag queen." She's also been called a "patron saint of drag queens," so it shouldn't be a surprise that gay fans started flocking to Dollywood in the mid 2000s. According to The New York Times, the gay crowds eventually organized a "gay day" at the park, inspired by the Disney World version in which they wear red shirts.
Yet, the good times were short lived, as Parton and the park never officially recognized it. In fact, park officials even had their lawyers send a cease and desist letter to the organizers regarding the Dollywood name. Yikes. That sounds bad, right? Well, it gets worse, because "gay day" also needed to compete with protesters from the Ku Klux Klan.
According to the Southern Standard, hoodless members of the white supremacist group coordinated protests as a "demonstration against homosexuality" on the same day as the "gay day." One of the protesters, Randy Gray, said that the day was "totally opposite of what theme parks are for." He added, "Theme parks have always been for families. They're going there, I believe, to rub it in our faces, to be like 'Ha, ha, we're finally getting our way." Facing threats from the KKK and getting little support from the park and the patron saint, "gay day" organizers eventually "disbanded" after five years.
