Dolly Parton is a bigger than life persona. She is a undeniable superstar – as a legendary country singer, mega-hit songwriter, award-winning actress and highly successful entrepreneur. She has an unassuming openness that resonates with adults and children alike. And that genuine openness has also brought her a large gay following.
Of the gay community, Dolly told Billboard, "They know that I completely love and accept them, as I do all people. I've struggled enough in my life to be appreciated and understood. I've had to go against all kinds of people through the years just to be myself. I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love. I don't think we should be judgmental. Lord, I've got enough problems of my own to pass judgment on somebody else."
And, in discussing how her Dollywood theme park attracts church groups and the LGBT community, Parton offers, "It's a place for entertainment, a place for all families, period. It's for all that. But as far as the Christians, if people want to pass judgment, they're already sinning. The sin of judging is just as bad as any other sin they might say somebody else is committing. I try to love everybody."
In an interview with PrideSource, Parton expands on the reason she doesn't judge gays or anyone else. It's because, she explains, that growing up she felt different.
"I've always felt that's one of the things that's drawn my gay fans to me. They do know that I do feel different, and all of my life I will be different. I always have been. But I enjoy and appreciate and respect that difference in myself just like I do in other people. God made me the way that I am and it's my business to be true to that."
And she addressed what the world would be like if everyone was free of judgment.
"It'd be a lot better, I can tell you that. But people love to hate, and it's just unfortunate but that's the way it is. People like to judge, they like to condemn, they won't accept anything they don't understand – that's just too bad. We have to work at those things anyway, but most people are not willing to. A lot of people are just blind and they're not seeing through the spiritual eye, and we need to look that way and then we would be more forgiving, more loving and more accepting.
In the country field," she added, "we're brought up in spiritual homes, we're taught to 'judge not lest you be judged,' and it's always been a mystery to me how people jump all over things just to criticize, condemn and judge other people when that is so un-Christian – and they claim to be good Christians! We're supposed to love one another. We're supposed to accept and love one another. Whether we do or not, that's a different story. But that's what we're supposed to do."
Parton has had 25 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts, a record for a female artist. Her all-inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits collections, paid digital downloads and compilation usage is at 100 million records. She made her mark in Hollywood in the hit films "Nine to Five," "Steel Magnolias," "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," "Rhinestone," "Straight Talk" and "Joyful Noise."
