{"id":418003,"date":"2026-08-27T06:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T06:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/418003\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T06:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T06:48:18","slug":"judge-cites-dolly-parton-a-lot-in-striking-down-texas-drag-show-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/418003\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge cites Dolly Parton \u2014 a lot \u2014 in striking down Texas drag show ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

A federal judge in Texas has struck down the state\u2019s drag show ban for a second time, siding with a Dolly Parton-esque drag performer and repeatedly citing Parton herself in his ruling on the day the country diva passed away.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge David Hittner\u2019s main issue with the 2023 law, championed by Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a> and state Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a> \u2014 the Trump-backed GOP nominee for U.S. Senate this fall and the defendant in the lawsuit \u2014 was what he called its vagueness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The law targeted \u201csexually oriented\u201d nudity in performances, which the plaintiffs, including Austin-based drag queen Brigitte Bandit, contended meant \u201cthat celebrity singers like Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, or Dolly Parton could be accused of being \u2018nude\u2019 for wearing low-cut tops that show cleavage,\u201d the judge wrote in Tuesday\u2019s 34-page order, which includes a footnote studiously confirming that \u201c\u2018Brigitte Bandit\u2019 is a pseudonym.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hittner, a Reagan appointee, later invoked Parton\u2019s name again, this time alongside her goddaughter Miley Cyrus: \u201cJust as many people criticized Elvis\u2019s signature hip gyrations and were offended by his display of male sexuality, chastised Dolly Parton as a voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure, and shamed Miley Cyrus for \u2018twerking\u2019 on stage during a live performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, there are \u2018erotic\u2019 elements in countless popular performances that could be subject to both civil and criminal penalties\u201d under the law.<\/p>\n

Finally, Hittner wrote that impersonators as a whole, not just drag performers, would be subject to the law. \u201cA Dolly Parton impersonator who uses a breast plate while dancing and making gestures or an Elvis impersonator who uses a packer while shaking and shimmying their hips\u201d could trigger liability under the law \u201cwhile still being constitutionally protected performances,\u201d Hittner wrote.<\/p>\n

Bandit, who frequently performs in her own drag persona with wigs that rival Parton\u2019s famous blonde bouffants, is known for using drag as a form of political protest \u2014 including wearing a dress featuring the names of the Uvalde school shooting victims when she testified before a Texas Senate committee.<\/p>\n

After Bandit went to the Texas Legislature in full drag and read Parton\u2019s children\u2019s book, the singer sent the drag queen a signed, personalized sequined guitar<\/a>, saying she had been moved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted Brigitte to know that she is not screaming into the void and that we see her work,\u201d Parton said through her Parton Productions.<\/p>\n

\tMore articles<\/p>\n

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