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The Prom is the latest movie coming this December to Netflix, and tells the story of four self-obsessed Broadway stars who descend on a small town to protest a school that will not let a lesbian student attend prom with her girlfriend. Though the movie takes some liberties (the real girl probably didn't get a dance-based pep talk from a Bob Fosse-obsessed chorus girl) but is actually based on the true story of Constance McMillen in Mississippi.
The true story behind Netflix's The Prom
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Prom.
In 2010, McMillen was not allowed to bring her girlfriend to the Itawamba County Agricultural High School prom, in a case that ignited media attention across the world.
A lot of the details of the plot of The Prom are taken straight from McMillen's real life, though the movie and the musical it is based on moved the location to Indiana in a move the playwright said was inspired by Mike Pence. The parents of her school, for example, really did organize a second secret prom which everyone but her was invited to.
"I'm not going to say that it's easy, because it was not easy to stand up for myself with all that pressure," McMillen said in an interview with Seattle Gay News, "but you've got to do it. I think you should come out. You have to learn how to read people, because when you live in a small town, flaunting that you've come out can be dangerous to your life. When you are faced with discrimination, stand up for yourself."
Her story of discrimination also had a happy ending, but a different one from in The Prom. While the Netflix movie sees the Broadway actors set up their own inclusive prom, the real McMillen got something much more important, but less suitable for the ending of a glitzy musical—legal justice and compensation.
After a federal court found in McMillen's favor after her case was taken on by the ACLU, she was awarded a payment of $35,000 from the school district, which also agreed to a non-discrimination policy.
However, the ending of the case was not wholly happy for her, with McMillen moving schools due to harassment from her school peers.
Those four Broadway actors are of course fictional (even if Meryl Streep is strongly channelling Patti LuPone in her wig and performance). In reality, McMillen's case was brought to international media attention by a series of LGBTQ+ celebrities.
Dan Savage, for example, asked his followers to contact the school, and McMillen appeared on Ellen DeGeneres and Wanda Sykes' shows. Perez Hilton, meanwhile, organized a party for McMillen and her friends.
McMillen went on to Northwestern to study psychology but has since retreated back into private life after being forced into activism.
The Prom is streaming now on Netflix.
