Dolly Parton has famously stayed far away from talking politics throughout her decades-long career, and notably turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom from both former President Trump and President Biden.
And in a wide-ranging interview with The Guardian during a recent trip to London in promotion of her forthcoming rock album Rockstar, Dolly explained quite simply why she doesn’t engage in public political discussions, saying that it’s just “polarizing,” and knows this from personal experience with her own family:
“Because you’re going to lose half your audience.
Even within my own family, especially the last few years since Trump and Biden, all that, it’s like we can’t even go to a family dinner any more.
Especially if people are drinking – they get in a damn fight at the table.”
Translation: nothing good is ultimately going to come out of it, especially when such a massively popular and widely recognized figure like her.
Dolly doesn’t want to add to the polarizing nature of the modern world we live in, adding that she doesn’t feel that it’s her place as a christian to judge others and insert her own opinions when it comes to political beliefs.
She just wants to bring people together by spreading love and light (and she’s pretty damn good at it, might I add):
“Don’t get so trapped where if you’re a Republican, you got to be this way, if you’re Democrat, you got to be that way. You’re not allowed to think nothing else.
Well, how crippling is that? I’ve got as many Democrats as I do Republicans as fans, and I’m not going to insult any of them because I care about all of them.
I ain’t that good a Christian to think that I am so good that I can judge people. That’s God’s job, not mine. So as far as politics, I hate politics. Hate politics.”
And in terms of criticism that it has to do with her bottom line and not wanting to isolate fans because of money, Dolly says she sees “both sides of everything” and believes that we all have a right to change our opinion if we’re open-minded enough to consider other people’s perspective:
“It’s just that I see both sides of everything.
I think people can change their views on a lot of things if they would open their eyes wide enough, or be willing to accept, ‘Well, maybe I’m wrong.’
But most people won’t change their mind because it makes them look weak and it’s like they have to stick with it. And that’s just stupid to me.”
And while she’s universally beloved by so many people in America and throughout the world, Dolly views that as a huge responsibility, saying that she just tries to be a decent person and help others when she can:
“I don’t know. This is amazing to me how people look to me, that’s a big responsibility. There ain’t nobody that good. I’m not all that. I make a joke – I’m not even all there.
I try to just be a decent human being, try to use love as my great tool and weapon. I try to leave my heart, my eyes, my ears open, and my mouth closed, when I know it’s not the right thing to be doing.”
And at 77 years young, the ever-humble Dolly is about to see another dream come true when she releases her very first full-blown rock album Rockstar on November 17th.
The record, inspired in large part by her husband Carl Dean and his love of the genre, features an absolutely all-star cast full of rock icons and legends on a good majority of the songs.
She’s already put out several really cool singles and collaborations with some of the biggest names in music, from “Magic Man (Carl Version) ft. Ann Wilson,” ‘“Bygones ft. Rob Halford with special guests Nikki Sixx & John 5,” and a mashup Queen’s multi-Platinum mega hits “We Are The Champions” and “We Will Rock You.”
She even got The Beatles back together… enough said.
Not to mention, Dolly is due to have several of the songs featured on upcoming Monday Night Football broadcasts, including a couple weeks ago when her duet with Chris Stapleton of Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” debuted.
“We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You”
