Lesbian couple claims discrimination at Dolly Parton's park
Sat. July 23, 2011 10:35 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
Knoxville, Tenn. -
Lesbian couple Olivier Odom and Jennifer Tipton said that they were discriminated against when they went to visit Dolly Parton's Dollywood waterpark this month.
Odom was wearing a T-shirt that said "Marriage is So Gay," and she said that a ticket taker told her to take it off.
Odom turned it inside out, because they were taking a friends' kids to the park and didn't want to make a scene, she told WBIR.
But they felt like there were other folks with way more offensive T-shirts heading in around her.
"It was just this one guy who picked out this one t-shirt, when there were rebel flags and offensive tattoos there," Tipton said.
Tipton and Odom were married last year. For the record, Dolly Parton has been outspoken in her support for gay marriage.
Odom wrote a letter to the park later. It read, in part:
"To ensure that your customers are not treated this way in the future, I would like to see Dollywood: implement policies that are inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people; conduct staff sensitivity training; and issue a public statement indicating that the park is inclusive of all families."
Odom was wearing a T-shirt that said "Marriage is So Gay," and she said that a ticket taker told her to take it off.
Odom turned it inside out, because they were taking a friends' kids to the park and didn't want to make a scene, she told WBIR.
But they felt like there were other folks with way more offensive T-shirts heading in around her.
"It was just this one guy who picked out this one t-shirt, when there were rebel flags and offensive tattoos there," Tipton said.
Tipton and Odom were married last year. For the record, Dolly Parton has been outspoken in her support for gay marriage.
Odom wrote a letter to the park later. It read, in part:
"To ensure that your customers are not treated this way in the future, I would like to see Dollywood: implement policies that are inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people; conduct staff sensitivity training; and issue a public statement indicating that the park is inclusive of all families."