Heartstrings — A Gay Love Story
2019
Heartstrings put a gay love story at the center — and won a GLAAD Media Award
Photo creditIn Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, the episode "Two Doors Down" centered a gay couple played by Andy Mientus and Michael J. Willett navigating family secrets and rejection during a New Year's Eve wedding. Some viewers reportedly walked out of a Dollywood screening after learning the two men were romantically involved. Parton stood behind the story: "It's important that I touched on everything that all families go through. Everyone has gays in their family." The episode won the GLAAD Media Award for outstanding individual episode.
Did you know
Parton also wrote "Travelin' Thru" for the 2005 film Transamerica — earning an Oscar nomination for a song written for a transgender story, long before most celebrities used the word "ally."