Dolly Parton is finally releasing her rock album.
After it was announced that Dolly was nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, she initially decided to take herself out of consideration, feeling that she hadn’t earned the honor.
But once the Hall of Fame responded that it was too late to take her off the ballot, Dolly changed her mind and accepted the nomination – and decided she would just earn it after being inducted in the Hall’s 2022 class.
The result is a 30-song rock album, Rock Star, coming this fall, featuring collaborations with some of rock and roll’s biggest names including Paul McCartney, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith and Elton John.
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But one Rock collaboration in particular is drawing attention and has fans upset – a Kid Rock collaboration, that is.
The album features a song called “Either Or,” which is a collaboration with the ever-polarizing Kid Rock. And it seems that some of Dolly’s fans aren’t happy about her choice to work with him.
Fans are upset that Dolly, who has generally avoided political statements, would collaborate with Kid Rock, who has been outspoken on many political issues including his support for Donald Trump and, most recently, his anger at Bud Light for partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
People were also pointing out that, while Dolly donated a million dollars to Vanderbilt University to fund the development of the COVID vaccine, Kid Rock has spoken out strongly against the vaccine, famously vowing not to play any venue that required masks or vaccines and calling out Dr. Anthony Fauci in his song “We the People.”
Needless to say, the decision to collaborate with Kid Rock has proven to be a controversial one, and fans are speaking out about it on social media – with some even calling for Dolly to pull the song from the album, and some claiming they’re done with Dolly altogether.
An article in The Advocate magazine, which calls itself “Your source for LGBTQ+ news,” called the track a “slap in the face.”
But it’s also not the only song on the album that’s drawing controversy. After releasing the first single from the album, “World on Fire,” many were quick to express their outrage with one line in the song in particular:
“I don’t know what to think about us
When did we lose “In God we trust?”
God almighty, what we gonna do?
If God ain’t listenin’ and we’re deaf too”
Seems like Dolly hasn’t even released the album and she’s already stirring up the controversy – and honestly, what’s more rock and roll than that?
