Dolly Parton apologizes to lesbian couple for censorship of gay-marriage T-shirt at her park

Jennifer Tipton and Olivier Odom

"Dolly Parton has apologized to a lesbian couple for an incident in July in which one of the women, who was wearing a T-shirt with a slogan promoting gay marriage, was denied entrance to Dollywood's Splash Country theme park until she turned the shirt inside out," Jayne Clark reports for USA Today.

Parton issued a statement saying in part, "Everyone knows of my personal support of the gay and lesbian community. Dollywood is a family park and all families are welcome." She issued the apology after Dollywood canceled a meeting with the couple because they wanted to include a representative of the Campaign for Southern Equality, a gay-rights group, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports. (News-Sentinel photo by Saul Young)

Dollywood is in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Parton grew up nearby.