Long gone are the days when music class meant teaching children the classics or more modern tunes imparting messages of strong character, patriotism, and morality.
A Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) elementary school teacher recently taught elementary students to play a song about a gay bar, and parents want district leaders to address it.
A music teacher for Desert Trails Elementary in Desert Ridge in North Phoenix, Jerry “Michael” Nanney, taught his class to learn the viral hit song “Pink Pony Club” by LGBTQ+ pop singer Chappell Roan. Scottsdale Unites For Educational Integrity (SUFEI) first shared the incident on its social media pages.
Roan’s inspiration for the song came from her visit to a gay bar in California. The song provides a narrative of a young woman who forfeits her religious upbringing in Tennessee for a progressive, LGBTQ+ lifestyle in California. The official music video for the song features Roan dancing alongside drag queens and men in skimpy leather costumes.
“I heard that there’s a special place where boys and girls can all be Queens every single day,” reads the lyrics. “Won’t make my momma proud, it’s gonna cause a scene. She sees her baby girl, I know she’s gonna scream: God, what have you done? You’re a pink pony girl, and you dance at the club.”
The term “pink pony” is also an allusion to the LGBTQ+ slang term for male genitalia and sex.
Parents complained they were not provided an opt-out for this lesson, let alone notified.
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Desert Trails Elementary music teacher, Michael/Jerry Nanney, played the "boomwhacker" version of the song "Pink Pony Club" for 11-year-olds at Paradise Valley School District.The "Pink Pony Club" song was inspired by The Abbey, a famous gay bar in West Hollywood. The… pic.twitter.com/VQ3X9VSrWf
— Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity (@ScottsdaleUnite) November 21, 2025
According to parent accounts of their interaction with Nanney over this lesson, Nanney claimed no knowledge of these meanings behind “Pink Pony Club.” Rather, the elementary school teacher claimed the students selected the song from a list provided by him, and that he recognized the song merely as a tune popular among the youth.
“I wasn’t aware of the themes you mentioned, as I heard several Kidz Bop versions of the song,” said Nanney in an email to one parent, shared by SUFEI.
However, Nanney’s online footprint and community involvement elsewhere indicate he is deeply versed in LGBTQ+ culture.
Nanney, a recent Arizona State University (ASU) graduate, has regularly shared posts about drag queen news, updates, and culture per his since-deleted or privatized Facebook profile. SUFEI shared a screenshot from his profile in which he shared a Facebook post from the drag queen news page, DRAG Spotlight.
Nanney leads the Praise Team choir at an LGBTQ+-affirming assembly that claims itself to be a Christian church, the United Church of Sun City.
According to the assembly’s website, Nanney began attending and assisting their choir in September.
The assembly is part of the Open and Affirming (ONA) coalition. In order to qualify as an ONA entity, an assembly must explicitly affirm LGBTQ+ identities and lifestyles.
Nanney also decorated his classroom to express open advocacy for LGBTQ+ lifestyles and beliefs. A poster in his classroom door reads, “All Are Welcome Here” with a rainbow.
Prior to attending ASU for graduate school during the pandemic, Nanney hailed from Texas where he attended Stephen F. Austin State University.
Records show that while Nanney lived in Texas, he taught at Sheldon Independent School District, Klein Independent School District, and Houston Independent School District.
Per PVUSD governing board documents, Nanney was hired in late July on a $50,000 salary.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article reported that the teacher worked at Desert Hills Elementary School teaching middle school students.
Disband teacher’s unions and shutter the Dept. of Education permanently.
I’m an advocate for public schools but this kind of thing needs to stop. “Woke” teachers who are promoting a DEI experience in their classrooms are disrespecting the majority of their students and the students’ parents. Their job is to educate, not indoctrinate. If they can’t accept that, they need to be removed.
This so-called “teacher” is obviously mentally ill and is a danger to young minds regardless of where he teaches. He simply is not qualified for the job he was hired to do. Keep kids out of public schools!
When held accountable for their evil deeds Teachers and Administrators will lie straight faced. I’ve been told “You’re the only person who has mentioned this to me.” Knowing that a neighbor had been in their office over the same exact issue earlier that day. These activists have no moral compass. When discovered, take actions to remove this rot.
Get him out of the classroom, but more importantly, get your kids out of public schools.
lier lier pants on fire.. and the rest of you should be too.. as in ‘your FIRED’ with legal actions pending that I hope the parents will line up to in lawsuits that won’t let go of a line of legal actions against the teacher and school system.. total irresponsible to allow this – without any knowledge or oversight.. neglect? plain ass stupid – just ain’t his place and the price paid needs to reflect that.