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Reba McEntire as a gay icon

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American country singer Reba McEntire is considered a gay icon.[1] In 2023, Chris Azzopardi of Pride Source said McEntire has a "rabid gay following" and said she "has delighted in a friendship with the LGBT community since the beginning of her 40-year career".[2] According to The Advocate, "Her ability to touch hearts from all walks of life is part of why McEntire has garnered a fiercely loyal gay fan following over the years."[3] The magazine has also said McEntire's show Malibu Country, which has LGBTQ characters,[4] "has given us many on-screen gays and won many LGBT fans".[5] McEntire has supported LGBTQ rights and same-sex marriage.[6][7] She has also done interviews with many LGBTQ publications.[8][9]

Drag

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Drag performer Bolivia Carmichaels impersonating Reba McEntire at CC Slaughters in Portland, Oregon, in 2022

Many drag performers have impersonated McEntire, including for McEntire herself.[10][11] Her cover of "Fancy" (1969) by Bobbie Gentry is often used during lip-syncs.[12] The song was used during a lip-sync contest on the fifth season (2019) of the reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.[13][14] For one episode on the fourteenth season (2022) of the main series RuPaul's Drag Race, Bosco portrayed the fictional character Fancy Michaels and wore hair and makeup inspired by McEntire. Xtra Magazine said the character was "delightfully and absurdly" based on "Fancy".[15]

In 2018, McEntire herself appeared in drag as Colonel Sanders in a series of KFC ads.[16][17]

McEntire has spoken out against Tennessee's legislation banning drag performance in public spaces.[18][19][20]

Music and impact on LGBTQ musicians

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McEntire's song "She Thinks His Name Was John" (1994) is about a woman dying from HIV/AIDS[21][22] and confronted the crisis.[23][24] Writing for Country Queer, Matthew J. Jones said, "The first country song about HIV/AIDS by a major artist, the song marks an important turning point in country music's relationship with the epidemic, which had already begun to impact rural America when the song was recorded. The song is an important country music milestone, but its shimmering, sentimental surface masks a lot of victim blaming and politics that have not necessarily aged well."[25]

A remix of McEntire's "I'm a Survivor" by transgender producer LeahAnn "Lafemmebear" Mitchell features queer and trans musician Mya Byrne on lap steel.[26] The collaboration has been described as "unprecedented".[27]

Gay country musician Orville Peck has covered "Fancy", which McEntire covered in the 1990s.[28] American Songwriter said Peck "[gender-bends] the track to include the idea of a young boy growing up and learning femininity and taking advantage of that in order to earn upward mobility".[29] Esquire said, "Peck has taken this song, so definitive and controversial on its own, and reframed it as a modern tale of desperation, fetishization, and darkness—but through the lens of queerness. It's an angle that Gentry likely didn't consider with her original release, but one that adapts seamlessly to the narrative."[30] The Advocate called the cover "very queer".[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Azzopardi, Chris (2020-10-05). "Reba, Still Fancy". Philadelphia Gay News. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  2. ^ "Q&A: Reba Talks 'Very Important' LGBT Rights, Her First Gay Wedding & Feeling 'Sad' For Closeted Country Stars". Pride Source. 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  3. ^ "Reba McEntire: First Time I Saw a Reba Drag Queen 'It Really Ticked Me Off'". www.advocate.com. Archived from the original on 2024-11-06. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  4. ^ "Reba's 'Malibu Country': A traffic jam of culture clash cliches - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  5. ^ "New Reba McEntire Show Is Full of Gay Stuff and She Would Not Have It Any Other Way". www.advocate.com. Archived from the original on 2025-02-15. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  6. ^ Gill, Monica (2024-06-01). "Every Time Reba McEntire Has Supported The LGBTQ+ Community". Glam. Archived from the original on 2025-01-24. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  7. ^ "Why LGBT Rights Are 'Very Important' To Reba McEntire". HuffPost. 2015-04-21. Archived from the original on 2025-04-09. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  8. ^ "25 LGBTQ+ friendly country artists you should know about". www.pride.com. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  9. ^ "25 LGBT-Friendly Country Artists You Should Know About". www.pride.com. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  10. ^ "Reba McEntire's "Fancy" Celebrates 30th Anniversary With A Remix By Dave Audé - Instinct Magazine". 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  11. ^ "Tennessee's drag show roots run deep". WPLN News. 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  12. ^ Parker, Lyndsey (2024-05-22). "Asher HaVon, the First Openly Queer 'Voice' Champ, and Coach Reba McEntire Talk Historic Win: 'I Pray Other LGBTQIA People Can Find Their Reba'". Music Times. Archived from the original on 2024-12-10. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  13. ^ Damshenas, Sam (2020-07-18). "Kennedy Davenport reacts to this week's Drag Race All Stars 5 lip sync". GAY TIMES. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  14. ^ Scott, Jason (2021-01-11). "Reba Continues To Follow Her Arrow". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  15. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14, Episode 7 recap: All toots, no boots | Xtra Magazine". 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  16. ^ Bollinger, Alex (2018-01-28). "This legendary singer did drag for a KFC ad. Cue the conservative outrage". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  17. ^ "Reba McEntire Dons Colonel Sanders Drag for New KFC Campaign". www.advocate.com. Archived from the original on 2024-11-01. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  18. ^ Dailey, Hannah (2023-03-31). "Reba McEntire Weighs In on Tennessee's Anti-Drag Laws: 'God Bless 'Em to Wear Those High Heels'". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  19. ^ "Reba McEntire Slams Tennessee Anti-Drag Law, Blesses Queens in High Heels". www.advocate.com. Archived from the original on 2025-02-12. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  20. ^ Sprayregen, Molly (2023-04-03). "Reba McEntire slams Tennessee's anti-drag ban: "God bless 'em to wear those high heels"". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  21. ^ Betts, Stephen L. (2015-12-01). "Flashback: Hear Reba's Poignant 'John' Address AIDS Crisis". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  22. ^ FARBER, JIM (1994-09-01). "COUNTRY FANS ACCEPT SHE THINKS HIS NAME WAS JOHN'". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  23. ^ "Reba McEntire Releasing 'Read My Mind,' On Vinyl With Expanded Editions". American Songwriter. 2019-10-28. Archived from the original on 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  24. ^ Donahue, Anne T. (2019-08-29). "To move forward, country music should look back to the Dixie Chicks". CBC Arts.
  25. ^ "At the Corner of Country & HIV... • Country Queer". Country Queer. 2022-08-09. Archived from the original on 2025-03-15. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  26. ^ G, Holly (2021-09-07). "Reba Releases 'I'm A Survivor' Remix Ahead Of Triple Release Album". Taste of Country. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  27. ^ "Reba Releases 'I'm A Survivor' Remix Ahead Of Triple Release Album". Taste of Country. 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  28. ^ Freeman, Jon (2020-08-07). "Song You Need to Know: Orville Peck, 'Smalltown Boy'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  29. ^ Uitti, Jacob (2022-06-08). "The Meaning Behind "Fancy" by Bobbie Gentry—and Made Famous by Reba McEntire". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  30. ^ "51 Years After It Was Written, "Fancy" Is the Subversive Country Anthem Of the Summer". Esquire. 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2025-04-21.
  31. ^ "Two Years After Trump Praise, Shania Twain Duets With Orville Peck". www.advocate.com. Archived from the original on 2024-12-15. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
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