Dolly Parton has weighed in on the Black Lives Matter debate, offering a politic answer that seems designed to avoid controversy over the far-left, anti police group and keep her in good graces with the media and her fans.
In a lengthy Billboard profile, the country music legend voiced sympathy for black lives while stopping short of endorsing the movement itself. “I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen,” she said. “And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!”
Watch below: Dolly Parton said she tries not pass judgement on other people.
Parton also discussed her decision in 2018 to rename her “Dixie Stampede” dinner attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to “Dolly Parton’s Stampede” in order to avoid offending anyone.
“There’s such a thing as innocent ignorance, and so many of us are guilty of that,” she said. “When they said ‘Dixie’ was an offensive word, I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to offend anybody. This is a business. We’ll just call it The Stampede. As soon as you realize that [something] is a problem, you should fix it.”
“Don’t be a dumbass,” she added. “That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.”
