When Dolly Parton was just a fledgling star trying to make it in the 1960s country music
scene, she was offered a big break in the form of working with Porter Wagoner on The
Porter Wagoner Show.
Singing duets with the titular country singer, Dolly rose to immense fame!
Many years into her tenure, she decided she wanted to break out of the male singer’s
shadow, which he wasn’t too happy about.
This led to a feud that lasted for decades and cost Dolly $1 million, though she eventually
forgave her old mentor and boss before his death in 2007.
Join Facts Verse as we explore the real reason Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner split for
good.
In 1967, Dolly Parton started working on The Porter Wagoner Show.
The show was already an established hit with country music fans, and Dolly was brought
on to replace the show's previous female singer.
The fans were initially hesitant to accept Dolly but grew to appreciate her at the continued
insistence of Porter Wagoner.
Dolly had released her first album shortly before being hired on to the show and had
yet to achieve much notoriety in the music industry.
Her gig on The Porter Wagoner Show proved to be her big break, and it was also something
that would haunt her for many decades into her career.
Once Dolly grew to be too big of a star for the show, Porter Wagoner became angry and
tried to stop her from quitting.
When he couldn’t, he proceeded to sue his former employee, resulting in a decades-spanning
feud between the two ex-friends.
Towards the end of Dolly’s time on The Porter Wagoner Show, Dolly and Porter would get into
heated arguments behind the scenes.
After Dolly left the show, Porter would slander her in the press, disparaging her at every
opportunity.
Though Dolly was hurt by her former employer’s unkind words, she refused to sink to his level.
One of the things that Porter attacked Dolly for was her appearance in Playboy magazine,
which Porter said wouldn't have flown well with female country singers of the past.
In response, Dolly claimed that she was never trying to be anyone but herself and that posing
in Playboy made sense for her.
Porter Wagoner also claimed during the years of the feud that Dolly was not a trustworthy
person in general and that she couldn't even be counted on not to stab her own family in
the back.
Though Dolly has never had any children, she has seemingly always treated her husband well.
The two have been together since before she and Porter Wagoner even met, and are still
together to this day!
Though Dolly’s husband likes to stay out of the spotlight, it appears that the two
still have a very loving and exciting marriage.
Regarding his trust in Dolly, Porter claimed that his mistrust of the singer was the reason
that he had fired her from The Porter Wagoner Show.
Contrastingly, Dolly claimed that she wasn't fired but that she had quit.
It remains uncertain which side of the story is the truth, though both claimed to have
done their part in stirring the flames of their tumultuous relationship during their
time on the show.
Dolly had simply outgrown her stature as Porter’s female sidekick.
Although she may have gone about breaking away from Porter’s grasp with a bit of an
ego, she was certainly right in thinking that her career would blossom outside of the show.
Dolly started performing on The Porter Wagoner Show in 1967 and gave her last performance
on the classic country music series in 1974.
She then went on to achieve greater stardom than ever as a solo artist and even continued
working amicably with Porter Wagoner in a professional capacity for several years, allowing
the male singer to produce some of her biggest hits.
By the end of the 1970s, Porter had found himself less successful than ever and was
growing increasingly jealous of Dolly's superstardom.
If Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner had been able to make things work professionally for
a few years after Dolly’s split from the latter’s show, their relationship was doomed
to sour eventually.
Once Porter’s jealousy of his former female apprentice became too much for him to deal
with, he took to slandering the star in the ways aforementioned, as well as suing her
for a sum of nearly $3 million.
There were numerous reasons that Porter felt he was owed the money.
These ranged from supposed breaches of contract to extravagant gifts that he had given Dolly
while she was working on his show.
The extravagant nature of these gifts added fuel to the fire for theories that Dolly and
Porter were involved in a romantic relationship during their time working together.
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When Dolly Parton had started her time on The Porter Wagoner Show in 1967, she had done
so with the firm conviction that she was only going to remain on the program until 1967.
Due to both pressure from Porter himself and simply being happy with her job on the show,
Dolly ended up staying for a few years beyond the amount of time that she had initially
planned.
By the time 1974 rolled around, Dolly couldn’t take it anymore.
She planned her exit from the series, though Porter was still mad about her leaving.
Dolly had accepted her role on The Porter Wagoner Show for numerous reasons.
For one thing, the gig meant a bigger paycheck than the singer had seen thus far in her career.
For another thing, it was likely going to mean big things for her future as a singer.
The show certainly ended up meaning big things for the singer’s career, as she became a
bigger star than ever before.
Once the audience accepted Dolly for who she was and stopped comparing her to the program’s
prior female singer, Dolly’s time on the show blossomed into a decades-spanning career
in country music.
Dolly was shocked when her former employer and friend decided to sue her for millions
of dollars, but Porter claimed it was the only way that he could resolve the issue.
He claimed to have reached out to Dolly’s camp to resolve the issue more amicably, but
the superstar was too hard to get ahold of.
Anyways, Dolly likely would have said no if her former employer had politely asked for
millions of dollars.
The matter ended up being settled out of court, with Dolly agreeing to pay Porter a sum of
$1 million.
He arguably deserved nothing, and many felt that Dolly was giving her former boss more
than she really owed him out of respect.
For her part, Dolly claimed that the $1 million was hard for her to come up with, and she
had to pay it in installments.
However, it’s hard to believe that the superstar would have that hard of a time coming up with
a measly $1 million.
On the matter of whether or not Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner ever had an affair during
the filming of The Porter Wagoner Show, Dolly remains fairly adamant that no such thing
ever occurred.
According to her, it's common in the country music scene for fans to fantasize and inevitably
theorize about male and female artists getting it on behind the stage.
However, Dolly claims that no such thing ever occurred between her and Porter.
This comes despite the fact that part of Porter’s lawsuit against Dolly involved some incredibly
extravagant gifts that seemed more like the kind that one would give to a lover than to
an employee.
Dolly was married at the time that she performed on The Porter Wagoner Show, to the same man
that she is married to today!
If Dolly became involved in an affair with Porter Wagoner, it would’ve been an extramarital
one.
However, that wouldn’t have necessarily been out of the question for the two.
Dolly has famously talked about having a somewhat open relationship with her longtime husband,
and Porter Wagoner certainly slept around with as many of his female peers as he could.
It stands to reason that a male star at the time likely would’ve balked at the prospect
of hiring a female singer that wasn’t going to sleep with him.
Dolly always referred to Porter Wagoner as one of the great loves of her life.
However, she had many reasons to hold the figure in reverence even if they weren’t
romantically involved.
Porter had offered Dolly a way into the country music scene, and he had also mentored her
during her early days on the show.
He had stuck his neck out for the female singer when the audience didn’t initially want
to accept her as a replacement and had also helped produce many of the singer's biggest
hits.
This is all part of why Dolly ended up agreeing to give Porter $1 million in the lawsuit and
also part of why Dolly ended up forgiving him before his 2007 death.
When Porter Wagoner died in 2007, Dolly Parton was by his side.
Along with his family, Dolly sang and prayed as Porter passed away peacefully.
Dolly was glad to get the opportunity to put all the bad blood behind them and let things
end on a positive note.
Although Porter said some terrible things about Dolly during his lifetime, Dolly always
refused to sink to the level of her original duet partner.
Although Dolly Parton claims that she never had an affair with Porter Wagoner, she could
be lying!
Now it’s time to hear from you: do you think Porter Wagoner was right to try and sue Dolly
Parton for millions of dollars, or do you think that Dolly would’ve found success
with or without him?
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