Dolly Parton musical plagued by homophobic abuse in the UK

Stevie Webb, a lead actor performing in the Dolly Parton musical Here You Come Again, has revealed the show has been plagued by homophobic abuse.

Packed with Parton’s songs, including Jolene, 9 to 5, Islands in the Stream and I Will Always Love You, Here You Come Again tells the story of a diehard fan (Webb) whose fantasy version of international icon Dolly Parton gets him through trying times.

Speaking on his TikTok, Webb said that an audience member had to be ejected from a show after they launched a volley of vile abuse.

Webb said: “The amount of audience members we have had to eject from our show due to homophobia is insane, it is insane. Just this week in Manchester alone, we had to eject someone who was shouting out slurs.

“On Wednesday we had to stop the whole show, we had to do an entire show stop and leave the stage, because a woman was so disgusted that there was a gay character on stage. She was shouting out, and then all the audience started shouting at her, and there was a massive ruckus. She was eventually ejected, and we could start again.

“But we were stopped for like 15 or 20 minutes, it was crazy. It’s happening nearly every single week, and it blows my mind. This is a Dolly Parton musical, first of all.

“It’s just me and Dolly Parton on stage, my character and Dolly Parton. London was the worst, which is crazy to me.

“I remember one guy who was shouting the F slur, he was like ‘I’m not here to watch some f-ing f** talk about his boyfriend, I just want to see Dolly Parton’. And it’s like, ‘listen to what you just said’. It’s a Dolly Parton musical mate, you’re gay. It’s going to be a little bit gay obviously.

“It has really opened my eyes, because we are in such a bubble in this industry. But travelling the country and seeing how many people literally cannot bear to see a gay person depicted on stage, it’s wild.”