Katherine Bomboy/NBC via GI
Miley Cyrus peacefully turned the other cheek after her “Rainbowland” duet with Godmother Dolly Parton was dropped from a spring concert schedule at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In a series of posts Wednesday night (March 29) from the singer’s Happy Hippie Foundation — a nonprofit that supports the LGBTQ community and homeless youth — the group announced they are making donations to charity in the Heyer’s honor Students.
“To the inspiring first graders of Heyer Elementary School, YOU remain. We believe in our happy hippie heart that you will be the ones to put aside judgment and fear and make us all more understanding and accepting,” the organization tweeted. A follow-up revealed that in honor of the students’ “BRIGHT future,” HH made a donation to the organization Pride and Less Prejudice, which provides LGBTQ-inclusive classroom books from preschool through 3rd grade to help students and teachers to help. read aloud, read proudly!”
Earlier this week, a language teacher at Heyer’s called school officials after “Rainbowland” was reportedly banned from the Spring Concert after school officials determined it “could be considered controversial.” School and district spokespersons did not respond to Billboard’s request for comment as of press time, but Waukesha Superintendent James Sebert emailed Wisconsin Public Radio, saying, “The question was whether the song was age-appropriate and the maturity appropriate was the first grader”.
The Cyrus/Parton duet on acceptance appeared on Miley’s 2017 album Younger Now. “Living in rainbow country/ Where you and I walk hand in hand/ Oh I’d be lying if I said that’s okay/ All the pain and hate that’s going on here/ We’re rainbows, me and you/ Every colour, every hue/ Let’s shine on through/ Together, we can start living in a Rainbowland”, they sing the song.
After “Rainbowland” was scrapped, the school’s music teacher replaced it with the Muppets’ “Rainbow Connection,” which was also initially banned but later accepted after opposition from parents and Waukesha’s Alliance for Education. Language teacher Melissa Tempel, who commented on the song flap, told WPR that the district didn’t give a specific reason for the ban, suggesting the only similarity between “these two songs was the world rainbow.”
In a third post, HH shared some of the lyrics along with the message, “When our founder @mileycyrus and her fairy godmother @dollyparton wrote those words together, they meant it.”
Check out the Happy Hippie tweets below.
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In honor and celebration of your BRIGHT future, Happy Hippie is donating to @lessprejudice to make the lessons more inclusive! 💛💛💛
— Happy Hippie Foundation (@happyhippiefdn) March 29, 2023
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“We are rainbows, me and you
Any color, any shade
Let’s shine through… TOGETHER WE CAN START LIVING IN A RAINBOW COUNTRY.”As our founder @mileycyrus and her good fairy @dollyparton wrote those words together, they meant it. pic.twitter.com/zRjTkcWttm
— Happy Hippie Foundation (@happyhippiefdn) March 29, 2023