Can we start by talking about the biggest thing about you?
Well, now, what would that be?
The outrageous fashions, the impossible wigs,
and the highly publicized bust line.
You don't have to look like this.
Provocative, controversial, even offensive.
Do you ever feel that you're a joke?
You know, I'm not some silly little girl here.
I've got some smarts.
A lotta the mothers thought that I was a bad influence
on their kids.
Nothing's better than proving people wrong.
Never had children yourself.
No. - Is there a reason?
Dolly Parton has canceled
several upcoming public appearances
and has checked into a New York hospital.
I just had a complete breakdown.
It was supposed to be my baby.
You were writing your suicide note?
Emotionally, physically, these have not been easy years
for Dolly Parton.
You'd already come up with a name
for the baby?
Ms. Dolly, I'm so sorry about this.
I was so upset.
Everything was just confusing to me,
and I was just angry, and I was hurt.
You can only stand so much heartache.
What exactly pushed you
to the breaking point?
You modeled your appearance
after the town hussy.
That was the women that I thought were beautiful.
I'd say, "Ain't she pretty?", and people'd say,
"Oh, she's just trash."
And I'd say, "Well, that's what I wanna be when I grow up."
Some of the mothers thought that I was a bad influence
on their kids.
And I wasn't really doing all the stuff I looked like
that I would be doing.
I just looked like trash.
Desperate to prove people wrong,
Dolly followed her dreams
of being a country singer to Nashville.
Came here early on a Saturday morning
with my little beat-up suitcase of songs
my little ol' guitar and ragged little clothes.
I always believed with all my heart that I would make it.
I mean, I saw no reason why I couldn't do it
because I was willing to work.
I was willing to sacrifice.
I had been as poor as anybody could ever be,
so I had everything to gain and nothing to lose.
But even as her dream started to come true,
people kept judging her.
Do you ever feel that you're a joke,
that people make fun of you?
Oh, I know they make fun of me.
Earlier today, we were discussing your weight.
Now, the last time I saw you were you this weight
or a different one?
You were a little tubby.
You don't have to look like this.
You don't have to wear the blonde wigs.
You don't have to wear the extreme clothes.
You're not pushing me around.
You know, I'm not just some silly little girl here.
I've got some smarts.
Despite her reputation,
Dolly was happily married and looking to start a family.
He does not wanna be in the spotlight at all.
He just hates that.
That's just not who he is.
He said, "I didn't choose this world.
"I chose you, and you chose that world,
"but we can keep our lives separate and together."
I figured we'd have kids.
We had names for them.
Dolly Parton opened up today about her dreams
of having a family, saying, "If we'd had a girl,
"she was gonna be named Carla.
"We talked about it, and we dreamed about it."
But at the height of her career,
her hope of becoming a mom was crushed.
Dolly Parton has canceled
several upcoming public appearances
and has checked into a New York hospital.
Emotionally, physically, these have not been easy years
for Dolly Parton.
It's been a pretty hard time for me
the last couple of years.
I did have some female problems.
Dolly's fight with endometriosis ended
with a partial hysterectomy, which rendered her infertile.
Dolly could defend herself from the insults
but she couldn't defend herself from heartbreak.
When Mama was 35 and Daddy was 37,
they already had 12 kids.
But as the kids started multiplying, Mom would say,
"Well, this one's gonna be your baby."
That just meant you had to kinda help a little extra,
get up and maybe walk the baby, fix the bottle.
And the naming and all that,
well, the the one Mama lost was gonna be my baby,
and I was so excited.
It just crushed me, and it crushed my mom too,
just losing child.
That little baby died, the one who was supposed to be mine.
You named the baby too.
Larry, you named baby Larry.
Now, I had the hardest time with it.
Her worst nightmare happening again
pushed Dolly to the edge.
I just had a complete breakdown.
'Cause I cry just as hard as I laugh,
and when I hurt, I hurt all over.
I had been going through a whole lotta family things
with a heartache.
Everything was just confusion to me, and I was just angry,
and I was hurt.
You were writing your suicide note?
I was thinking about it all.
Dolly turned to the one thing
that had always helped her feel better, her music.
When you're a tender, loving, caring, sensitive person,
you feel like you can only stand so much heartache.
I wrote a lotta great songs because of that too.
My little guitar and my little songs,
I've been able to work through every problem I ever had.
Dolly put me on her tour as the opening act.
It wasn't long after that that some of the headlines
in the tabloids had Dolly and myself, you know,
pictures of us and saying something was going on.
Billy Ray Cyrus was a rising country star
who, unlike most, respected Dolly.
I was so upset about it.
I was afraid that she would be upset.
I went to Dolly's dressing room.
I came over and said, "Ms. Dolly, I'm so sorry about this."
From that moment on, we became very good friends.
But there's a lotta special things about you,
that I'm just so happy that we got to be friends.
When Dolly helped Billy Ray handle
all the rumors, he found an unexpected way of thanking her.
So Miley Cyrus is your goddaughter.
Then when Miley was born, he said,
"You just have to be her godmother."
I said, "Let me be her fairy godmother."
So I love being that.
She's a special gal, and I hope she just does greatness.
It is kind of like a wonderful little connection I have
with Miley and Billy Ray.
They're like family to me.
when the media started criticizing Miley,
Dolly knew that she wasn't the trashy girl
people thought she was.
Miley's going through a lotta changes.
We just have to trust her.
Provocative, controversial,
even offensive performance at the MTV Video Music Awards
has everyone talking.
I hope she makes all the right choices,
and I love her either way.
And with Dolly by her side,
Miley was able to get back on track.
She isn't just mine,
but she's everyone's fairy godmother,
teaching us all what it means to be truly kind,
to be individual, to never give up
and to never judge a book by its cover.
I think Miley's one of the most talented people I know,
and I just love her to pieces.
I'm glad she's mine.
Supporting Miley showed Dolly her true calling.
I really honestly believe that some things like that
are meant to be because now,
everybody's kids are mine.
Right, you're sort of the mama for everyone,
taking care of all of these kids.
Yeah, I'm the Dolly Mama.
And I'm all about standing up for the ones
that need to be stood up for.
I've never gone where anybody expected me to go.
You might think you know me, but I might surprise you.
You're trending online
for the Dolly Parton Research Fund's donation
toward the COVID vaccine.
I'm just happy that anything I do can help somebody else.
I think about where I am now compared to where I've been,
where it came from and how much I have achieved.
I can sit in a room with the biggest businessmen
and I don't feel a bit inadequate.
In fact, I always feel like I got a little something
on most of 'em.
By exceeding expectations,
Dolly showed the world who she truly was.
So happy to present this Lifetime Achievement Award
to Dolly Pardon.
If you're comfortable with yourself, you're gonna shine,
and other people are gonna be drawn to you.
Be your own self.
Don't try to be what somebody else wants you to be.
You just listen to your heart.
To be respected for what you do,
you need to be appreciated for what you do.