Dolly Parton spent decades singing about love, heartbreak, faith and working "9 to 5," but there was one arena the country music legend repeatedly resisted entering: partisan politics. "I am not political, and I refuse to get caught up in political things," Parton told USA Today in a 2020 interview. Parton, who died Tuesday at 80, maintained that position through the presidential elections, pointed questions about President Donald Trump, offers of the nation's highest civilian honor and controversies involving some of her fellow entertainers.
KENNY CHESNEY TELLS BILL MAHER THE KEY REASON HE REFUSES TO TELL HIS LISTENERS HOW TO VOTE "I don't like to get involved in politics, because first of all, I have as many Republican fans as I do Democrats," Parton told USA Today. "I don't want to offend anybody, I have a right to myself." "Like God gave us free will, America gave us free speech, but you've got to be responsible for anything you say and do," she added. Two years earlier, Parton was repeatedly pressed about Trump during an interview with ABC's David Wright, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
DWAYNE 'THE ROCK' JOHNSON REJECTS HOLLYWOOD’S POLITICAL OBSESSION, BLASTS CELEBRITY ATTACK CULTURE "I have a lot of fans out there, and I don’t want to offend anybody," Parton said. When Wright attempted to draw a parallel between Trump and the sexually abusive boss in Parton's 1980 film "9 to 5," she refused to bite. "I’m not addressing that," Parton said.
"I learned a long time ago, keep your damn mouth shut if you want to stay in show business. … I’m not in politics, I’m an entertainer." When Wright pointed out that Parton was also a role model, she responded: "Yes I am. That’s why I don’t talk about people." JOHNNY CARSON'S FRIEND SAYS LATE-NIGHT KING WISELY AVOIDED PARTISANSHIP AS KIMMEL CONTROVERSY GROWS Parton's determination to avoid partisan politics with one of America's highest honors. She revealed in 2021 that the Trump administration had twice offered her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Parton said she declined the first offer because her husband, Carl Dean, was ill and the second because she would not travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the BBC. By then, the Biden administration had also approached her about the award. "Now I feel like if I take it, it'll be doing politics, so I'm not so sure," Parton told NBC's "Today." MICK JAGGER DOESN'T WANT TO 'LECTURE' FANS, SAYS HIS JOB IS TO MAKE PEOPLE 'HAVE THE BEST TIME' Her aversion to political camps did not mean she kept quiet about everything she believed.
"I know whatever I say, people are going to listen, and they’re going to make more of it than maybe what I meant. So I have to be careful," Parton told People in 2021. "Of course I have my opinion, but I’m not an opinionated person as a rule.
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