Reba McEntire Slams Tennessee Anti-Drag Law, Blesses Queens in High Heels

Country music superstar Reba McEntire says she tries to stay out of politics, but she can’t help being “disappointed” in the anti-drag bill recently signed into law by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.

The Los Angeles Timesasked McEntire what she thought of the drag law, which defines “male and female impersonators” as adult cabaret performers and bans “adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors,” as the legislation’s text states. Drag performances are banned from public property and venues accessible to minors.

“I wish they would spend that much time and energy and money on feeding the homeless children,” McEntire said of state legislators.

Asked if she was surprised the measure passed, she said she was “disappointed.” She added, “We’ve got a real problem in this country, and to be worrying about men wanting to dress up as women? God bless ’em to wear those high heels — I feel for ’em. But let’s center our attention on something that really needs attention.” Drag queens have often impersonated her.

But she also said she has never gotten involved in a political race. “I don’t do politics,” she said. “Never have. My job is to entertain. I’m not there to influence people one way or another how to vote.”

However, some of her songs have centered on what some listeners might consider political issues, or at least issues that have become politicized. In 1994, she released “She Thinks His Name Was John,” about a woman with AIDS.

Asked by the Times if she was drawn to the song, written by Sandy Knox and Steve Rosen, because the subject was risky, she said, “I didn’t think about risky. I thought, This is a song about AIDS. I know nothing about AIDS, but I do know that it’s taboo. You know when the booger bear’s in the dark, then you turn the light on and he’s not there anymore? I thought maybe that by singing about AIDS, I could shed some light on it and people would start talking about it and it would get it out of that scary place. It’s scary enough by itself without people having to think it’s scarier than it is.”

McEntire is on tour now, and she will appear at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles Saturday. She is also a mentor to contestants on The Voice.