Dolly Parton was a lot of things - a country musician, a philanthropist, an actress, a storyteller and a businesswoman. One thing she never was, however, was a politician. But don't think it's because no one asked her.
In 1999, during an appearance on the talk show Prime Time Country!, the singer was asked by a young woman in the audience if she would ever run for office. Dolly demurred, with her characteristic razor-sharp wit. "I think of myself more as a diplomat.
That's the kind of people who tell you to go to hell in such a way you look forward to the trip." It's something she'd had to do many times over a career that spanned decades and genres. With a fanbase that included grandmas and Gen-Zers, Republicans and Democrats, drag queens and evangelicals, Parton was a kind of unicorn in America's polarised society. "She is the one person who straddles political divides… the so-called culture wars," said Sarah Phillips, who teaches an Anthropology of Dolly Parton course at Indiana University - and still finds it hard to speak about the singer in the past tense.
The professor "curled into a ball" in her office and "just sobbed" upon hearing of the death. A recent poll by YouGov said that Parton's net approval rating was 65% - compared with Barack Obama's 14%, Taylor Swift's 3%, Donald Trump's -19% and Joe Biden's -18%. Much of that universal appeal has been attributed to Parton's steadfast refusal to weigh into politics, for fear of alienating her fans.
"I've got as many Republican fans as Democrats and I don't want to make any of them mad at me, so I don't play politics," she once said during an interview with Fox News. She turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom from two different presidents. She twice declined Donald Trump's offer, citing scheduling and health reasons.
So when Joe Biden offered it to her a few years later, she felt she had to decline as well, otherwise it would look like she had a preference for one over the other. Elton John, Oprah Winfrey and Paul McCartney lead tributes to Parton How Parton told her life story through six iconic songs After news broke on Tuesday of Parton's death, tributes poured in from politicians from both sides. Trump ordered American flags to be flown at half mast - an honour usually reserved for elite statesmen and judges.
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