Dolly Parton, the legendary queen of country music known for classics like "Jolene" and "9 to 5," died Tuesday at the age of 80, leaving behind a towering musical legacy and legions of grieving fans.
Despite her immense cultural influence, Parton spent her career trying to avoid Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, masking her opinions on the most controversial issues of the day.
During the 2016 election, Parton insisted she had backed neither Trump nor Clinton, after her remarks describing the Democratic nominee's qualifications were mistaken for an endorsement.
Parton again refused to publicly choose a side in 2020 when Joe Biden faced Trump, and she stayed out of the 2024 contest between Kamala Harris and the Republican nominee.
Avoiding the political divide
Parton explained in a 2023 interview why she had spent decades steering clear of politics.
"Because you're going to lose half your audience," she said.
The bitter divide between Trump and Biden had even made family dinners unbearable, she said.
"Especially if people are drinking, they get in a damn fight at the table," she told The Guardian.
Trump offered Parton the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, twice during his first term. She declined, citing her husband's illness and later because of concerns surrounding COVID and travel.
When Biden was considering giving her the medal, Parton said she was not sure she would accept because taking it could look political. She ultimately declined it as well.
The last time Parton appeared comfortable stepping foot inside the political realm was back in 2005, when George W. Bush presented her with the National Medal of the Arts.
She was hosted at the White House the following year by Bush and First Lady Laura Bush as a Kennedy Center honoree, an award recognizing lifetime contributions to American culture.
Hating politics
Parton explained that she hated politics because it forced people to pick sides.
"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," she said in 2023.
"I ain't that good a Christian to think that I am so good that I can judge people," she added. "That's God's job, not mine. So as far as politics, I hate politics. Hate politics."
But she said that just because she chose to stay out of politics did not mean she did not have strong opinions on the issues of the day.
When pressed about Trump during an appearance on ABC's Nightline in 2018, she insisted she had views.
"Of course I have my opinion about everybody and everything," Parton said. "But I learned a long time ago, keep your damn mouth shut if you want to stay in show business."
"I'm not in politics, I'm an entertainer," she added.
World on Fire
Parton's refusal to come down on one side of the political aisle did not mean she was indifferent to the world.
She released "World on Fire" three years ago, a song that attacked politicians without naming a party.
"Don't get me started on politics," she sang. "Greedy politicians, present and past, they wouldn't know the truth if it bit 'em in the ass."
Parton said that the lyrics had been provoked because she was fearful about the world.
"I was worried and grieved about the state that the world is in," she told NPR after the song's release.
"Watching the world just burn down around us with all the craziness, all the war, all the famine and the politics, you know, the great divide, I guess, is more what I'm talking about, and what it's even doing to families, even my own."
