TikToker's Push for Female Knights at Medieval Times Goes Viral

A TikTok user is taking on one of the most recognizable dinner theater chains in the country, and hundreds of thousands of people are watching. Christina Palma, who posts under the handle @christina.marie.palma on TikTok, has launched a vocal online campaign urging Medieval Times to cast women as knights in its shows. Her videos have accumulated hundreds of thousands of views and sparked a wide-ranging debate about gender, entertainment, and how a 40-year-old brand presents itself to modern audiences.

Medieval Times has not issued a public statement in response to the campaign.

What the Campaign Is Asking For

Palma's core argument is straightforward: Medieval Times is a scripted entertainment experience, not a history class, and there is no good reason women should be excluded from the role of knight in its shows. Her videos call on the company to expand its casting and open the knighthood to female performers.

The campaign has picked up the hashtag #ladyknights across TikTok and other platforms, drawing in supporters who share Palma's view as well as critics who argue the all-male format is intentional and part of the brand's identity.

Allegations of Deleted Comments

Palma has also claimed that Medieval Times is actively removing comments referencing "lady knights" from its Instagram page and other social media platforms. She has alleged the company is suppressing the conversation rather than engaging with it.

The deletion claims have added fuel to the campaign, with many online viewers arguing that removing comments signals the company is aware of the criticism but unwilling to address it publicly. Medieval Times has not confirmed or denied that it has deleted any comments related to the campaign, but comments in support of lady knights are absent from the comment sections of most of their recent Instagram posts, despite widespread support of the campaign.

A Brand Built on Six Male Knights

Medieval Times has operated since 1983, when its first location opened in Kissimmee, Florida, just outside Orlando. The appeal of the show came from a live stunt format, with armored knights hoisting broad swords and jousting on a massive sand floor while audiences cheered for one of six competitors based on their seating section.

As of 2025, Medieval Times operates ten locations: nine in the United States and one in Canada. The show is set in an 11th-century Spanish kingdom, and while roles like the Royal Falconer and the Master of Horses are open to any gender, the knight roles have remained male.

The company's own website describes its show as featuring "six knights compete to become defender of the realm," with no mention of any female knight role in current productions.

The Show's Growing Popularity Among Women

The campaign arrives at a moment when Medieval Times is drawing a surge of interest from women in particular. As genres like Romantasy dominate publishing and medieval-themed television dominates streaming, many young women have been attending Medieval Times events, drawn to the live spectacle and the attention of the show's performers.

That cultural moment has made Palma's campaign resonate with a demographic that is actively spending money at Medieval Times shows, strengthening the argument that the company has a business incentive to listen.

Other TikTokers Are Joining In

Palma's videos have inspired a wave of response content across TikTok. Other creators have stitched and duetted her videos, adding their own perspectives on the lady knight debate. Some creators have said the company's response to the campaign has been overwhelmingly negative, with at least one content creator stating they would decline any offer to perform as a knight at Medieval Times because of how the brand has handled the pushback.

The campaign has also drawn in author Jamie Pacton, who wrote a young adult novel set in a fictionalized Medieval Times-style environment centered on a young woman fighting to become a knight — a story that has found new relevance amid the online debate.

History Offers Some Precedent

Critics of Palma's campaign often argue that female knights have no place in a show modeled on medieval history. The historical record is more complicated than that framing suggests.

While female knights were rare in the Middle Ages, they did exist. Between about 1358 and 1488, 68 women were knighted and appointed Ladies of the Garter under the Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded by King Edward III in the 14th century. Some of those women were knighted on their own merits, independent of their husbands or royal connections.

Supporters of the campaign have pointed to this history as evidence that the all-male format is a creative choice, not a historical inevitability.

A Company With a Complicated History on Labor and Social Issues

This is not the first time Medieval Times has faced public pressure over how it manages its performers and its public image. In 2022, employees at the New Jersey location filed for a union election with the American Guild of Variety Artists. The company sued the union over trademark violations — a suit that was later dismissed — and was able to pressure TikTok to shut down the union's social media account on intellectual property grounds.

Workers at the Buena Park, California location initiated a strike in early 2023, and after nine months, the union agreed to return to work while continuing to negotiate for what it described as a safe and equitable work environment.

That backdrop has made some observers less sympathetic to the company's silence on the lady knight campaign.

Medieval Times Has Not Responded

As of publication, Medieval Times has not issued any statement addressing Christina Palma's campaign, the allegations of deleted social media comments, or the broader debate over female representation in its shows. The company's customer feedback email remains the only public channel the brand has directed inquiries toward.

Whether the campaign will produce any change in the show's casting remains to be seen. What is clear is that the conversation is not going away.

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