Dolly Parton Shares the Reason She Stays Out of Politics

Country music legend Dolly Parton recently opened up about why she chooses to stay out of politics, unlike many other Hollywood stars.

Fox News reported that Parton was just asked about the uncomfortable moment when Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin bashed Donald Trump while they were onstage with her during the 2017 Emmy Awards.

“I don’t like to be known by the company I keep, so to speak. I want to be my own individual self. If I’ve got something to say, I’ll say it, but I don’t want to be dragged into it,” Parton said.  “I just did not want everybody to think that whatever they think is what I think. I don’t really like getting up on TV and saying political things. I don’t even want to make a deal out of it, but I want people to know I’m my own individual self. Even though [Fonda, Tomlin and I] may agree on a whole lot of things — and they may have more agreement [between] themselves because they’ve been together for longer — I still have my own thoughts and my own way of doing things. It’s not a matter of being disrespectful, it’s just, ‘OK, that’s what they said, I’m not getting involved in it.’”

Dolly Parton doesn’t want to alienate her fans

Parton went on to say that she has no interest in alienating members of her fanbase by getting political.

“I’ve got as many Republican friends as I’ve got Democrat friends and I just don’t like voicing my opinion on things,” she said. “I’ve seen things before, like the Dixie Chicks. You can ruin a career for speaking out,” she said. “I respect my audience too much for that, I respect myself too much for that. Of course I have my own opinions, but that don’t mean I got to throw them out there because you’re going to piss off half the people.”

In a world where left-wing entertainers love talking about politics like it is their job, Parton’s attitude is incredibly refreshing. She understands that her fans have no interest in what she thinks about politics, and instead just want to hear her sing! We need more entertainers in Hollywood to take a page out of Parton’s playbook and start keeping their mouths shut about politics.