Country music's Dolly Parton has had so many rumors about her spread in the tabloids and
online over the years.
Some of the rumors you've heard are, in fact, true.
For instance, she really did once lose a Dolly Parton lookalike contest to a drag queen.
But others are totally made up.
Here are some of the false facts everyone believes about Dolly.
Chances are good that, at some point, you've heard the rumors that Parton is covered in
secret tattoos, especially on her arms, which she covers up by wearing long-sleeved shirts
and dresses all the time.
In 2014, Jezebel even wrote an article about it that was full of what they called photo
"evidence."
In an interview on the Today show, when Savannah Guthrie asked Parton if she wore sleeves all
the time to cover up her tattoos, Parton explained that she does have some tattoos, but they
were mostly meant to cover up scars on her fair skin.
"I'm not really one to have, just, completely tattoos, but I do have a few…"
"Okay."
"... but they're not where you can see."
In an interview with Vanity Fair, she also explained,
She noted that she has a few, mostly pastels, and that she's, quote, "not trying to make
some big, bold statement" by getting inked.
One of the most popular rumors about Parton is that she has cheated on her husband, Carl
Dean, a lot.
This could be because people rarely see him, or it could be because Parton works with men
quite often and has such an outgoing personality, or maybe it's a mix of both.
Parton has addressed the rumors before, and, while she has admitted to having an emotional
affair, that's about it.
In an interview with The Guardian, she said she has "flirtations," adding,
Another rumor about Dolly Parton that won't go away, no matter how many times she denies
it, is that she's secretly a lesbian.
People specifically believe that Parton has been having a very long romantic affair with
her good friend Judy.
In an interview with ABC News, Parton compared her friendship with Judy to Oprah Winfrey's
close friendship with Gayle King.
"Judy and I have been best friends since we were like in the third and fourth grade.
I mean, I love her as much as I love anybody in the whole world, but we're not romantically
involved."
Parton has been careful to say that she has nothing wrong with anyone who is gay, it's
just not a word that describes her.
She told Pride Source,
Parton may have been married for over 50 years, but she and Dean never had kids of their own.
A lot of people seem to think this is something Parton regrets, but she's discussed it, and
it doesn't seem to be something she would change.
In an interview with ABC News, she admitted that, while she does sometimes think about
what her kids would look like if she and Dean had them, she doesn't have regrets.
"I used to think I wanted children, but I don't have children now, but I'll tell you
looking at the way this world is now, it's like I'm almost glad I don't."
She also told The Guardian that, while she thinks she would have made a great mother,
she knows it would have meant giving up some of her career.
She added,
"I make a better aunt than I would a mother, I think."
While many people think Parton wishes she had had children at some point, there are
a whole slew of other people who believe she actually has had children, just not with her
husband.
There are rumors that Parton is a secret mother to kids she had with two other male celebrities,
and there's a good chance these rumors came from the same people who believe she's had
multiple affairs.
In an interview with The Mirror, Parton said that the craziest thing she ever heard about
herself was,
She seems to laugh the whole thing off, joking,
Parton comes off as a high-maintenance star: Her hair and makeup is always done, and she's
always wearing some sort of fabulous, glitzy outfit.
There are even rumors that she has a bunker on the grounds of her Nashville home that
contain all of the thousands of dresses she's ever worn, and according to The Guardian,
this is actually true.
But is Parton really that high-maintenance?
In an interview with The Mirror, she insisted that she is, quote, "pretty low maintenance,"
saying that, whenever she's backstage, all she asks for is some tissues, crazy glue to
fix any broken nails, "a little flat mirror" to check her appearance, and water.
She added,
She noted just how low-maintenance she is in a 2015 interview with People, when she
said that, on her dates with Dean, she loves to just hang out in their RV in her "comfy"
clothes.
Many people assume Parton is also a very fake person, a rumor that has probably come about
because of her big hair, her use of makeup, the plastic surgery she's gotten, and the
attention she puts on her appearance.
But in an interview with The Guardian, Parton made it clear that she's very genuine, saying,
Most people who meet Parton seem to agree.
In a post about meeting her on his website, Roger Ebert once wrote,
It turns out she actually has a great reputation in Hollywood!
Although Parton has been linked to many famous men, one of the celebrities a lot of people
believe she had an affair with is Kenny Rogers, someone with whom she's recorded a few songs.
It doesn't help that the two are good friends who have great chemistry and often joke around
about that supposed "affair" on their own.
Rogers joked on the Today show,
"Everybody thought we were having an affair because we were on tour together for two years,
and we didn't.
We've just flirted with each other for 30 years."
"It's more fun…"
Parton added on the Today show that she thinks of them more as brother and sister.
She also addressed the rumors in her interview with The Guardian, saying,
Even if you don't listen to Dolly Parton's music on a regular basis, you likely know
the song "Jolene."
It's undoubtedly one of her most popular songs, and it's played quite often.
It seems to be a song about Parton's husband cheating on her with a woman named Jolene
and Parton begging the woman to leave her man alone.
But in reality, there's a different story behind it.
According to NPR, Parton got the idea for the song because of a redheaded bank teller
who had a little bit of a crush on Parton's husband.
She explained,
She also said that the name Jolene actually came from a redheaded girl she met at an autograph
signing, noting that her name sounded "like a song."
"But I saw that Jolene that worked at the bank the other day, big as a house.
I won!"
In an age where many female celebrities have publicly announced whether they're a feminist
or not, it's no wonder people are curious about how Parton identifies.
She's never explicitly said that she's a feminist, but many people assume she is because of her
general attitude and her previous work in movies about strong female characters.
But when she was asked if she was a feminist during an interview with The Guardian in February
2019, Parton supposedly wrinkled her nose, and said,
Around 2015, a lot of tabloid reports started coming out with claims that Parton was suffering
from stomach cancer.
The announcement was, of course, met with shock and grief from her fan base and anyone
who believed it.
In fact, the rumors got so bad that Parton herself had to address them.
In a statement obtained by Billboard, Parton said,
However, she was suffering from another gastrointestinal-related illness.
In the same statement, Parton said,
Thankfully, since 2015, it seems like Parton's health has been all good!
Another very popular rumor about Dolly Parton is that she's had an affair with Burt Reynolds.
The two worked together in the past, and, when he died in late 2018, she wrote a tribute
to him on Instagram, stating, in part,
She addressed the rumors in an interview with The Mirror, saying,
She also joked about the rumors about her having an affair with Reynolds, saying,
She explained that they were like "brother and sister," so it appears that the relationship
between them was strictly platonic.
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