Dolly Parton Is Forced to Address Rumors About Her Best Friend

Country music legend Dolly Parton was sadly just forced to speak out to deny rumors that she is having an affair with her longtime best friend, Judy Ogle.

Fox News reported that though Parton has been married to her beloved husband Carl Dean for the past 53 years, some in the entertainment industry have long spread rumors that Ogle is actually her secret lover. Parton, however, said that there are absolutely no truth to the rumors and added that though she calls Ogle her “girlfriend” sometimes, she means it in a platonic way.

“Well, people love to talk, people love to gossip. They’ve said that about Oprah but it’s not true,” Parton said, referring to longstanding rumors that Oprah Winfrey and her best friend Gayle King are lovers.

“So people say that — because you can’t really have a great relationship with a woman. I’m not gay but I have so many gay friends and I accept everybody who they are,” she added.

Parton opens up about her longtime best friend

Parton went on to open up about her friendship with Ogle.

“Judy and I have been best friends for 64 years, since we were little kids. Our parents knew each other, we grew up together, we were like sisters, became best friends. She was very quiet, I was very outgoing. So we made perfect friends. We went all through school together. She went to the army when we graduated because she needed the insurance and she needed to help her family and I was trying to make it. As soon as she got out, she came to Nashville and we’ve been together ever since.”

Parton’s over 50-year marriage to her husband is a rarity in the entertainment world, so it is particularly sad that they have been hit with these kind of rumors. Her husband has always shied away from the public eye, but though he’s reluctant to appear with her on the red carpet, it does not mean that he loves her any less when they are at home.

Parton’s friendship with Ogle also seems to be a very special one. Why is it that two women can’t be best friends these days without it being sexualized in some way?

Now that Parton has set the record straight, we can only hope that these nasty rumors have been put to rest once and for all.