Dolly Parton: ‘Of Course Black Lives Matter — Do We Think Our Little White Asses Are the Only Ones That Matter? No!’

Dolly Parton isn’t afraid of being true to herself. For decades, the entertainment icon has been a beloved figure to millions, her fame surpassing the confines of the country realm and cementing her place as, really, a major pop culture legend.

A new feature with Billboard was published this week, and its incredible depth goes to great lengths to show who Dolly Parton is in 2020 — someone very consistent with her ideals and very protective of her image and reputation.

That knack for expressing herself comes out throughout the piece, but especially when regarding the current social climate, the same that saw acclaimed country/pop band Lady Antebellum change its name to “Lady A” and the Dixie Chicks rename themselves “The Chicks” in reaction to the ties of their previous monikers to racially insensitive themes rooting from the Deep South.

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I’m so honored to be on the cover of @billboard for the very first time! Thank you Billboard for such a wonderful piece and @millermobley for the beautiful photos 💗 Visit the link in my bio to read the full article! ⁣ ⁣ 📷 Miller Mobley for Billboard

A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton) on Aug 13, 2020 at 11:01am PDT

The Billboard piece notes that Dolly renamed her Dixie Stampede dinner attraction to Dolly Parton’s Stampede for the same reasons, offering this up as an explanation:

“As soon as you realize that [something] is a problem, you should fix it. Don’t be a dumbass. That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.” 

And when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement and social justice protests that have popped up in recent months, Dolly didn’t hold back:

“I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen,” she says. “And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!” 

There’s plenty of more eye-catching insight from Dolly Parton featured in the Billboard piece — give it a read if you haven’t yet. Dolly Parton is a treasure.