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At a performance in early January, Austin-based drag queen and LGBTQIA+ rights activist Brigitte Bandit opened a surprise gift from one of her idols, Dolly Parton. In a powerful gesture of allyship, the country music icon sent a pink-and-white bejeweled acoustic guitar to the performer, along with a personal message, reading, “To Brigitte. Love, Dolly Parton.”
On Instagram, Bandit shared a video of her opening the guitar. As it dawns on her who the gift is from, she freezes and holds her hands over her mouth in shock—a feeling that, as she told Austin’s NBC affiliate KXAN, has yet to wear off. “I honestly can’t believe it’s even real,” said Bandit. “I keep staring at it being like it’s just going to disappear, and I’m going to wake up from this dream because it’s just—it’s just wild. It’s very exciting.”
Bandit was gifted the bejeweled guitar after a challenging year for the performer, who has been actively involved in political efforts against anti-drag and anti-trans legislation in Texas.
According to KXAN, Bandit’s connection to Parton began when Creative Production Coordinator with Dolly Parton Enterprises Rebecca Seaver, who also works in “draglesque,” saw a photo of Bandit testifying at the Texas Capitol, which she did several times in 2023. On the days she went to testify, Bandit dressed in full Parton-esque glam and held a children’s book about the 9 to 5 actress. When Seaver showed the country music star that picture, she signed the guitar to send Bandit’s way.
“Never did I ever imagine I’d be sent a custom rhinestoned guitar signed by Dolly herself to me after seeing the work I’ve done this year. I love you [Dolly Parton] thank you so much for helping me find my strength in femininity and kindness,” Bandit wrote on Instagram.
“Dolly Parton was actually the second concert I ever saw. My first one was Cher, and Dolly was my second. I like to joke that’s why I’m a drag queen now,” Bandit told KXAN. “I do call myself the ‘Dolly of Austin.’ My very first paid booking was a Dolly show. Whenever I started to get a little bit more traction in the drag community, for some reason, Dolly and Brigitte just got together, and I was booked for so many Dolly events that eventually, I just ended up becoming the Dolly. Often, if somebody wanted a Dolly, I was there.”
During the regular legislative session in 2023, Bandit took several trips to the statehouse to testify against Senate Bill 12 and other legislation to limit drag performances and create consequences for public libraries that host drag storytime events for children. She even read from one of Parton’s children’s books. “She loved wearing wigs and lots of makeup,” reads the passage that Bandit read to state legislators. “Maybe some people thought it was too much, but children loved her look, and she did, too.”
Eventually, Bandit and several other drag performers joined the Texas ACLU in filing a lawsuit against the state over the law. Shortly after the performer’s profile ran in The Austin Chronicle in September 2023, a federal judge issued a permanent injunction, declaring SB12 an “unconstitutional restriction on speech.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he’s appealing, once again choosing to spend more time on anti-drag laws based on falsehoods than on actual threats to children, like gun violence.
“Real issues are being ignored while the far right and white supremacists are using lies and deceit to push their hate-filled agendas,” Bandit wrote on Instagram. “One hate group has started to air a TV ad that uses an edited image from a drag storytime I hosted with @dragstoryhour with a background from a video of a completely different show in Dallas that included a sign they had previously used to push their narrative (that also exists in a string of ice cream shops). They are deliberately misleading people because they know their claims are not true.”
Support from Parton is not just a personal triumph for Bandit, but also a significant nod of solidarity and encouragement for the broader struggle for LGBTQIA+ rights and recognition in Texas and other states.
“It’s a public statement to send a guitar to a drag queen in Texas right now that’s fighting this kind of anti-drag and anti-trans bills,” Bandit told KXAN, “so I love Dolly for supporting the community and making sure that the people who are doing this feel heard. Everybody’s excited to see that people notice what we’re doing here.”
Bandit told KXAN that she only plans to perform with the guitar once before placing it in a display case. On Parton’s birthday on January 19, Bandit will perform alongside artists Darci Carlson, Paige Plaisance, and Willy McGee at the 4th Annual Dolly’s Birthday Bash and Tribute Show. A portion of the event’s proceeds will go to the Austin chapter of the Parton-founded Imagination Library, which mails books to children across five countries.
(featured image: Emma McIntyre, WireImage / Omar Vega, FilmMagic)
