Dolly Parton is the rare American celebrity beloved by pretty much everybody. In her recent Billboard interview, she uses that singular platform to discuss this summer’s George Floyd protests. According to the magazine, “Parton hasn’t attended any marches, but she is unequivocal in her support of protesters and the Black Lives Matter movement.†Says the singer, “I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen. And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!â€
Parton also discusses her 2018 decision to remove the word “Dixie†from her dinner attraction Dixie Stampede, which has productions in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri. The show, which features horse-riding stunts, musical productions, and competitions in the vein of a Medieval Times, is now called Dolly Parton’s Stampede. Parton apparently pulled the term for the same reason the Dixie Chicks are, as of this summer, just the Chicks. Namely, because “Dixie†serves as a romantic nickname that glorifies, rather than reckons with, the slave-holding Confederate South.
“When they said ‘Dixie’ was an offensive word, I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to offend anybody,’†the singer explains. “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. That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.†You can read her full interview here.