Dolly Parton, the singer, actress, and humanitarian well-known for refraining from making political statements, has voiced her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Breaking the silence revolving around the civil unrest and the BLM movement, the 74-year-old country music legend confirmed she believes that “Black lives matter.”
“I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen. And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white a**es are the only ones that matter? No!” the ‘Jolene’ singer said in an interview with Billboard.
As the country star went on to say, she is “not a judgmental person” but she does believe that people have the right to be who they are.
“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,” she told the music magazine.
“God is the judge, not us. I just try to be myself. I try to let everybody else be themselves.”
Parton’s recent statement appears to be in contrast to her mainly apolitical lifestyle, whereas the actress typically refused to comment on various policies, movements, and politicians during her career that has spanned over five decades.
Following the country star’s interview, internet users have been left divided. While some praised the 74-year-old for speaking out about her views on the BLM movement, others slammed her for breaking her silence.
During the interview, Parton also opened up about her decision to change the name of the Civil War-themed restaurant in her Dollywood Theme Park from Dixie Stampede to The Stampede.
As the singer revealed, the name was changed after she had become aware that the word ‘Dixie’ has ties to the Confederacy.
“There’s such a thing as innocent ignorance, and so many of us are guilty of that,” she told the magazine.
“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. Don’t be a dumba**. That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.”
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