Dolly Parton voices support for Black Lives Matter movement in new interview

Country music legend Dolly Parton spoke out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement during a recent interview with Billboard magazine.

In an article published this week, Parton, 74, said that while she hasn’t participated in the protests sparked by the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, she supports demonstrators’ right “to make themselves known and felt and seen.”

"And of course Black lives matter," she told the magazine. "Do we think our little white [expletive] are the only ones that matter? No."

Parton added that she's "not a judgmental person" and believes that "we all have a right to be exactly who we are."

In addition, she explained why she decided in 2018 to drop the word "Dixie" from the name of her dinner theaters in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri, now known as Dolly Parton's Stampede, following criticism.

“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,’” she told Billboard, adding that she “would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.”

Read the full interview here.

Cox Media Group