Whether you are a fan of country music or not, there is no way you can’t love Dolly Parton . Not only is she a major country music trailblazer, but she is just a genuinely solid, likable person. What’s not to love, am I right?
Here are some of our favorite moments that make her the icon she is!
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1. When she showed support for the LGBTQ community in an interview with *Billboard*.
“As far as the Christians, if people want to pass judgment, they’re already sinning. The sin of judging is just as bad as any other sin they might say somebody else is committing. I try to love everybody,” she said .
“They know that I completely love and accept them, as I do all people. I’ve struggled enough in my life to be appreciated and understood.”
“I’ve had to go against all kinds of people through the years just to be myself. I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love. I don’t think we should be judgmental. Lord, I’ve got enough problems of my own to pass judgment on somebody else. “
2. When she showed her support for drag queens that dress up as her.
“When I do ‘Jolene’ and I see a bunch of drag queens out there, I start singing ‘Drag queen, drag queen, drag queen, drag queen, please don’t take my man.’ I have a huge gay following and I’m proud of them. Sometimes some of them look more like me than I do!,” she told the New York Times .
3. When she showed her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Instead of standing idly by, clinging to white privilege, Dolly decided to use her enormous platform to speak out and raise awareness about the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Do we think our little white [expletive] are the only ones that matter? No!,” she said .
“I do believe we all have a right to be exactly who we are,” she went on.
“And it is not my place to judge. All these good Christian people that are supposed to be such good Christian people, the last thing we’re supposed to do is judge one another. God is the judge, not us. I just try to be myself. I just try to let everybody else be themselves .”
4. When she started a reading program called, Imagination Library, that donates free books to children every month for five years.
This one speaks for itself, really! What a noble cause.
So far, since starting the program in 1995, she has sent more than 140 million books to children, worldwide.
5. When Elvis Presley wanted to record “I Will Always Love You” and receive half of the publishing royalties (even though he didn’t write the song), and she turned him down.
“Colonel Tom said I had to give away half the publishing rights,” she explained to Seth Meyers. “‘Cause Elvis didn’t record anything unless he had half of the publishing .”
She explained that giving up half of the publishing rights did not sit right with her, so she denied him.
“I just couldn’t do it,” she went on. “‘Cause I was leaving that for my family. But after Whitney [Houston] recorded it, I realized that it was the best choice .”
6. The time she made a, “Me on LinkedIn vs. Facebook vs. Instagram vs. Tinder” meme on Instagram.
You just have to love that Dolly doesn’t take herself too seriously.
She isn’t afraid to let loose and joke around!
7. The time she made a dirty joke about *The Muppets*.
It had all of us cracking up.
“Do you know what’s green and smells like Miss Piggy,” she asked Jane Fonda in-between takes while filming 9 to 5 . “Kermit’s finger.”
8. When Barbara Walters tried to subtly shade her and she had the best response.
“Do you ever feel that you’re a joke,” Barbara asked Dolly in an interview. “
“Oh I know they make fun of me, but actually all these years people have thought the joke was on me, but it’s actually on the public,” Dolly replied .
“I am sure of myself as a person. I am sure of my talent. I’m sure of my love for life and that sort of thing.”
“I am very content, I like the kind of person that I am. So, I can afford to piddle around and do-diddle around with makeup and clothes and stuff because I am secure with myself .”
9. When she made a joke about vibrators at the 2017 Emmys.
When Dolly reunited with her 9 to 5 co-stars at the 2017 Emmys, she made a hilarious joke that most women can appreciate!
“Congratulations on your nomination for your show,” she said . “I’m just hoping I’m gonna get one of those Grace and Frankie vibrators in my swag bag tonight.”
10. When she donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help fund research for COVID-19 relief.
More than ever, the world has needed those who can contribute to do so, and thankfully, Dolly delivered!
We love to see it!
11. When she made it clear she won’t stand for sexism.
Early in her career, Dolly set the record straight, explaining that there is no correlation between her intellect and her physical appearance.
“I’d like to think I’ve got a brain beneath the wig,” she said . “And a heart beneath the boobs.”
