Teen Fought Back After 'The Prom' Lesbian Shirt Banned From School

A middle schooler who was reprimanded for wearing a “We’re All Lesbians” souvenir shirt from the Broadway musical The Prom has turned her negative school experience into a positive one for the whole community.

Justice Cillo-Smith wore the simple yellow tee to school last month, but quickly found herself sitting in the Liberty Middle School principal’s office with an accusation of dress code violations.

“The student assistance counselor referenced the (dress code’s) sixth bullet point when I spoke with her over the phone,” Justice’s mom, Gwen Wu, told TODAY Style. “It forbids ‘articles of clothing that contain references to illegal substances, sexual innuendos, inappropriate language, and pictures, sayings or symbols that show affiliation with hate groups, gangs, or demeaning messages directed toward any individual, group or association.’”

So either the administrators at the school are among those who wrongly sexualize merely being queer, or they’ve had some serious problems with pesky lesbian gangs among pre-teens.

Both Justice and her mother were frustrated with Justice being pulled out of class and ultimately being told she couldn’t wear that shirt to school anymore.

“My initial reaction was anger and it made me feel that they had a bias against me for being openly lesbian,” Justice said.

Her mother also added that the principal said it was for her own protection, because middle school students weren’t accepting.

That turned out to be false, as several students at the school distributed 200 flyers with the same “We’re All Lesbians” quote and passed them out for other classmates to wear to show their support for Justice earlier this week.

And the school board wound up having her back, too. Justice and her mother met with them earlier this month to explain the situation.

“The Superintendent was apologetic for how [Justice] felt targeted with intolerance,” Wu said on Facebook.

The superintendent himself, Scott Cascone, released a statement after Justice’s story was picked up by the press.

“When it comes to light that we have fallen short in our mission, what shall we do as a community?” he wrote. “We shall not condemn, we shall not judge, we shall not cast out. I say, as a learning organization, let's come together through honest and heartfelt dialogue, and let’s teach and grow.”

LGBTQ sensitivity training is currently being planned for the school, and the principal has reportedly said the shirt is no longer considered against the dress code.

“I hope people learn that it’s not OK to discriminate against LGBTQ children and that you can’t just respect what people in power say because they could be wrong,” said Justice. “It’s important to stand up for your own rights, even if you have to go against everything the school is telling you.”

The Prom's message definitely wasn't wasted on this eighth grader.