Dolly Parton Thinks She And Donald Trump Have One Thing In Common
Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers had a strong friendship and professional partnership for many years. While performing at Parton's theme park, Dollywood, in 2015, Rogers compared Parton to Donald Trump, who was campaigning for the 2016 election at the time. Rogers spoke about how, while recording the duet "You Can't Make Old Friends," Parton said she wouldn't be able to sing at Rogers' funeral. "So I said, 'We're assuming I'm going first?'" Rogers said (via YouTube). He commended Parton for her honesty and continued, "You know where you are with her at all times. She has no filter. If it goes in her mind it comes out her mouth. And that's what makes her special. She has become the Donald Trump of country music."
In a 2016 Rolling Stone interview that happened in March, prior to the presidential election in November, Parton didn't seem to know the full quote of what Rogers said, but she had her own opinions on her potential similarity to Trump. "What did that mean?" Parton asked. "He meant my hair or my money? I don't know what he meant." Parton continued, "Me and Donald kinda have the same hair." She laughed and said she was unsure exactly what Rogers was trying to say. However, she guessed correctly when she said, "He does talk about the fact that I'll just say whatever's on my mind."
Parton's iconic hair looks much better than Trump's tragic 'do
Dolly Parton's iconic blonde wig is leagues above Donald Trump's infamous hair. Trump's 70s are his worst hair decade, with his thinning gold combover hanging on for dear life. A picture from the former president's hush money trial in May 2024 also showed his age was catching up to him, with some visible white hairs on the back of his head. The truth is that Trump reportedly holds onto his hair due to a dream of the biblical figure Samson, which is admittedly a little odd.
On the other hand, the "Red Shoes" songstress' hair is a wig, meaning she never has a hair out of place. Parton did an October 2023 interview with Vogue in honor of her "Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones" book. She shared some fashion and beauty advice, including a brief history of how she got started wearing wigs because of her first hairstylist, Colleen Owens.
"It was always the bigger, the better," Parton said. "I started wearing wigs because I quickly realized that bleaching and teasing my hair every day would cause breakage and not look good. It was handy to have several looks that I could just choose from and never have a bad hair day." (No one's judging if you're curious as to what Parton's real hair looks like.)
Parton doesn't discuss politics
Politics is a subject Dolly Parton often avoids. In a 2023 interview for The Guardian, Parton said she didn't like how people get stuck feeling they can only think a certain way because of their political party. She continued, "I've got as many Democrats as I do Republicans as fans, and I'm not going to insult any of them because I care about all of them." As a Christian, she felt God was the one who could judge.
The song "World On Fire" from Parton's "Rockstar" album includes the lyric, "Greedy politicians, present and past / They wouldn't know the truth if it bit 'em in the a**." On "Today" in 2023, Jacob Soboroff asked Parton who she was referring to. She said it was all politicians. She spoke about their preoccupation with political parties and thought they should focus on doing what's right instead.
Parton turned down a big award for fear of seemingly choosing political sides. She told "Today" in 2021 that she'd been offered the Presidential Medal of Freedom two times while Donald Trump was in office. Outside circumstances kept her from accepting, so she was unsure what she would do if President Joe Biden offered it. After their 2023 interview, Soboroff said Parton was indeed offered the same award from Biden. Parton reportedly didn't accept because "I just don't want even the appearance of being partisan in any way" (via Consequence).