Dolly Parton may be gone, but her spirit of self-expression is still making waves \u2014 this time in a Texas federal court. <\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge David Hittner on Tuesday cited the late artist in his decision to strike down Senate Bill 12, a 2023 law that sought to restrict drag shows. His decision, which blocks the Texas attorney general from enforcing the law, noted that the prohibition was \u201can unconstitutional restriction on speech.\u201d <\/p>\n
Just as many people \u201cchastised Dolly Parton as a voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure … there are erotic elements in countless popular performances that could be subject to both civil and criminal penalties under S.B. 12,\u201d Hittner wrote in his decision.<\/p>\n
And because the law doesn\u2019t specify who determines whether a performance \u201cappeals to the prurient interest\u201d or that the work be considered as a whole, a single sexual or erotic moment in a performance could result in penalties, he wrote. Those penalties include civil fines of up to $10,000 for businesses and a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a year in jail for participating individuals.<\/p>\n
Hittner\u2019s decision came down on the same day Parton, the 80-year-old legendary songwriter, actor and businesswoman, died<\/a> following a brief battle with cancer. <\/a> <\/p>\n Parton <\/a>was referenced several times in court records associated with the case. One of the plaintiffs, Brigitte Bandit, a drag queen and longtime activist, frequently performs as the Grammy-winning artist. <\/p>\n In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Bandit wrote that Parton had been a \u201chuge influence\u201d on her life and her drag performances. She even brought a children\u2019s book about Parton to testify at the Texas Capitol, which eventually got back to the country music star, who then gifted Bandit a signed rhinestone-covered guitar.<\/p>\n \u201cDolly has shaped much of my life as a drag artist,\u201d Bandit wrote on Instagram<\/a>, calling her a \u201cqueen who has changed the world with her love, artistry, and GLAM! my diva forever.\u201d <\/p>\n After the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Parton called herself a \u201cpatron saint\u201d of the gay community in an interview with Billboard<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cAll those drag queens, sometimes I see some of them look more like me than I do,\u201d said the star, who famously lost a Dolly Parton lookalike contest<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s ruling wasn\u2019t the first time the law, widely touted as a \u201cdrag ban,\u201d has been deemed unconstitutional by the courts. <\/p>\n Hittner initially struck down the law in September 2023, just a few months after the Texas Legislature passed it. In November 2025, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the lower court\u2019s injunction and returned the case to district court with instructions on how to reconsider it. <\/p>\n In the end, the high court\u2019s directions did not change Hittner\u2019s determination that the law violates the 1st and 14th amendments. <\/p>\n Hittner wrapped up his decision with a suggestion for those who oppose or are offended by the performances: \u201c[T]he solution is relatively simple … just don\u2019t go.\u201d<\/p>\n