Ronnie Spector Supports Teen Involved in Same-Sex Prom Date Controversy

Posted on Jun 25th 2010 1:30PM by Steve Baltin
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Ronnie Spector, the voice behind 'Be My Baby,' will headline the "All Love, All Woodtsock" benefit this Friday, June 25 in Woodstock, N.Y.. The concert was inspired by the fight of Mississippi teen Constance McMillen, who sued her school for the right to bring her girlfriend to her prom, a case that moved Spector.

"I'm so willing to support this," the legendary Ronettes singer tells Spinner. "I'm glad, I really am, because it's the first thing I feel so strongly about."

Despite being a 66-year-old from New York, Spector found a number of things she has in common with the 18-year-old Mississippi native. "I know what it feels like to grow up as an outsider because I'm a half-breed. People would picket me, cut my hair off and everything," she says, recalling her own youth. "I could identify with her because when I grew up my mother was black, my father was white and my mom was also half-Cherokee. I got picked on so much because they didn't know what I was."

Spector could also empathize with McMillen's fighting spirit. Rather than roll over and accept her school's decision, McMillen battled the school with the help of the ACLU in a case that is still pending. Spector, who hasn't met McMillen yet in person, couldn't be more impressive with the girl's resolve. "I'm so proud of her because I did the same thing. I spent 21 years in litigation because I refused to give up. That's the same with Constance," she says.

"As a mother, I felt for Constance," she adds. "We have to accept all kids for who they are and treat them with love and understanding. How could you not let a girl come to a prom? I just thought it was outrageous."