Dolly Parton turns 80 today: Here are nine times she proudly came out swinging for LGBTQ+ rights
Dolly Parton is a country music legend, a philanthropist, and a major LGBTQ+ ally. (Getty/Canva)
Dolly Parton is a country music legend, a philanthropist, and a major LGBTQ+ ally. (Getty/Canva)
Happy birthday Dolly Parton! The iconic, incredible, philanthropic musical legend turns 80 years old today (19 January).
Of course, in this household, we celebrate Dolly every day, but her birthday is extra special, and a good opportunity to reflect on all of the wonderful things our lord and saviour has done for the LGBTQ+ community.
From releasing dozens of studio albums and writing two of her most adored tunes on the same day (“I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene”), to partly funding a coronavirus vaccine and distributing endless amounts of free books to children, Dolly Parton is a full-time angel on this earth.
Yet the LGBTQ+ community holds a particularly special place in its heart for the singer/living legend. To mark her 80th the right way, here are nine times she proved herself a patron saint of queer allyship.
1. Dolly Parton made a defiant pledge of support for LGBTQ+ people on her 1991 album
Tucked away in Dolly’s 1991 album Eagle When She Flies was a song that says regardless of religion, lifestyle and sexuality, family is family.
The appropriately titled “Family” includes the lyric: “Some are preachers / some are gay / some are addicts, drunks and strays / But not a one is turned away when it’s family.”
While not all the song’s lyrics would fly today, it was a quiet yet defiant statement of solidarity with queer families.
2. She’s urged her fellow Christians not to ‘shame’ queer people
In a 2017 interview that resurfaced last year – re-introducing listeners with their serotonin, long thought lost – Parton called out Christians to be “more loving” of the LGBTQ+ community.
Speaking on Larry King Now, the songwriter explained that her high-decibel advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights has drawn criticism from some Christians. But she shrugged it off.
“I keep saying: ‘If you’re the fine Christian that you think you are, why are you judging people? That’s God’s job,'” Dolly told Larry King.
“We’re not God, we’re not judges, we’re supposed to love one another, we’re supposed to not judge.”
3. Trans bathroom bans are a bad idea, says Dolly Parton: ‘If I have to pee, I’m gon’ pee’
Bathrooms have been reduced by social conservatives and anti-trans activists into pinched battlegrounds in the US – lacking federal guidance, states have tugged in different directions about allowing trans people to simply swing by a public restroom.
Parton waded into the tangle of state laws in 2016, emphatically telling CNN: “I think everybody should be treated with respect. I don’t judge people and I try not to get too caught up in the controversy of things.
“I hope that everybody gets a chance to be who and what they are. I just know, if I have to pee, I’m gon’ pee, wherever it’s got to be.”
4. She doubled down on her stance regarding anti-trans bills in 2023
As anti-trans legislation continued mounting up at an alarming rate in the US in 2023 – the year Dolly’s home state Tennessee also attempted to introduce a ban on public drag performances – she made her stance clear.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter back in November 2023, she argued that trans people “cannot help” being trans “any more than I can help being Dolly Parton”.
“I just want everybody to be treated good,” she said.
“I have some of everybody in my own immediate family and in my circle of employees… I’ve got transgender people. I’ve got gays. I’ve got lesbians. I’ve got drunks. I’ve got drug addicts — all within my own family. I know and love them all, and I do not judge.
“And I just see how broken-hearted they get over certain things and I know how real they are.”
She continued: “If there’s something to be judged, that is God’s business. But we are all God’s children and how we are is who we are.”
5. She gifted a drag queen with a bejewelled guitar
2023 was a tough year for drag performers, who had to face down a raft of legislation that attempted to push them out of public performance spaces. For one queen, it was a particularly testing time: Austin-based drag performer Brigitte Bandit spent much of the year campaigning against Texas’s anti-drag and anti-trans legislation.
She fought in court in full drag, took to social media to raise awareness, and joined a legal case in opposition of Texas’s anti-drag Senate Bill.
But Dolly Parton, it seems, wanted to give her something to brighten her up after her trying year: a signed, bejewelled guitar.
Brigitte Bandit shared a video of herself opening the surprise gift, which was signed: “To Brigitte. Love, Dolly Parton.”
6. After a Dollywood visitor was made to take off her marriage equality tee, Dolly Parton stepped in
When a lesbian patron of Dollywood – the theme park all about, you guessed it, Dolly – was forced to turn her pro-marriage equality inside out in order to enter a water ride, Parton was not impressed.
She was quick to issue a statement reaffirming her unwavering support for LGBTQ+ rights, including her support for marriage equality, according to Hornet.
“I am truly sorry for the hurt or embarrassment regarding the gay and lesbian t-shirt incident at Dollywood’s Splash Country recently,” she wrote in the 2011 statement.
“Everyone knows of my personal support of the gay and lesbian community. Dollywood is a family park and all families are welcome.”
7. She backed marriage equality as early as 2009
Dolly Parton came out swinging for the hot-button issue of US marriage equality years before the Supreme Court legalised it in the historic 2015 judgement.
Back in 2009, talk show host Joy Behar suggested that Dolly’s background as a Tennessee-born country musician would imply that she would be in no way supportive.
“I know that’s true,” acknowledged Dolly. “I always say, ‘Sure, why can’t they get married? They should suffer like the rest of us do.'”
8. Absolutely everything about ‘Travelin’ Thru’
“Travelin’ Thru” was a tear-jerking, award-winning song written and performed by Dolly for the 2005 film Transamerica.
The film starred Felicity Huffman as a trans woman who jumps on a road trip to reunite with her long-lost son, with Dolly’s song becoming a queer anthem – capturing the bravery and resilience of the LGBT+ community.
“Some people are blind or ignorant, and you can’t be that prejudiced and hateful and go through this world and still be happy,” Dolly said about what motivated her to pen the track, according to her website.
“One thing about this movie is that I think art can change minds. It’s alright to be who you are.”
9. As soon as she joined TikTok, she celebrated her queer fans
In December 2022, Dolly Parton made social media worth using once again as she joined TikTok. After amassing almost half a million followers in just a few hours, she set about celebrating her LGBTQ+ fandom.
In a video montage captioned “You all are so creative,” Dolly shared clips of queer performers and drag queens dressed up as the country singer, including trans actress Dylan Mulvaney and Drag Race queens Jan Sport, Shuga Cain, and The Vivienne, who sadly passed away on 3 January 2025.
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