Dolly Parton Doesn’t Hold Back in First Public Statement About Black Lives Matter

Dolly Parton isn't one to give political statements, but when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement, she's quite vocal.

The country icon, 74, recently did an interview with Billboard and revealed that she fully supports the cause and those who protest. She said, "I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen. And of course Black lives matter."

Parton hasn't attended any marches, but she's certainly been doing her part by holding herself accountable. In 2018, for instance, after she learned that the term "Dixie" was problematic and insensitive, she promptly changed the name of her dinner attraction from "Dixie Stampede" to "Dolly Parton's Stampede."

She explained, “There’s such a thing as innocent ignorance, and so many of us are guilty of that. 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. That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.”

Parton made her latest statements just months after she shared her desire to steer clear of politics. In 2019, she said, "I don't believe that I should offend people that don't have that same opinion by voicing my own opinion. I'm an entertainer; I can live it, I can write about it, I can joke, lift people up in my own way. But I don't see no reason for me to get involved in political fights."

Considering her warmth and her bubbly personality, it's not surprising that she chooses to distance herself from the brutal world of politics. But when it comes to issues like racism and inequality, Parton is setting the record straight on what she believes.

“I’m not a judgmental person," she said. "I do believe we all have a right to be exactly who we are, and it is not my place to judge. All these good Christian people that are supposed to be such good Christian people, the last thing we’re supposed to do is to judge one another. God is the judge, not us. I just try to be myself. I try to let everybody else be themselves.”