People should know by now not to test Dolly Parton's fanbase. They're just as intense and defensive as Beyoncé's or Taylor Swift's rabid fans. This time, they're going to bat for her stance of the LGBTQ community.
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Conservative news site Federalist writes an essay slamming Parton's basis in religion and spirituality and how it goes hand in hand with her stance towards queer people. The headline reads, "There's Nothing Loving About Dolly Parton's False Gospel," causing an uproar in the process.
Writer Ericka Andersen argues that the country music icon isn't a real Christian. She can't truly be a Christian if she doesn't call homosexuality a sin. It makes her inconsistent if she defends the LGBTQ community. "Parton's version of love, which includes condoning immoral sexual behavior ('be who you are,' she's said), is unaligned with God's vision for humanity," Andersen writes.
Ultimately, Andersen's stance is not surprising. In reality, This is a pretty black and white stance that Christianity holds. If you're a stern bible thumper, you know the numerous accounts in which they do not condone homosexuality. Regardless, the Dolly Parton fans are not having it.
Dolly Parton Stands For The LGBTQ community
In the end, the Federalist writer relents, saying she shouldn't have used Parton as the basis of her argument. "I regret using Dolly as the example for the point I was making in the article," she says to Yahoo. "We all make poor choices in how to frame things sometimes. This was one of those moments for me! Dolly is one of the few people who is beloved by all and who loves all. The world is lucky to have her."
If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen! It was all good until people started calling Andersen out. Now she's backpedaling. This could've all been avoided had she listened to Dolly talking about her spirituality.
At the end of the day, Dolly clearly communicates in the past about her religious and LGBTQ stances in the past. Unless you're purposefully misreading what she says, it's impossible to misunderstand her perspectives. In a 2023 interview with The Guardian, she puts it bluntly, ""I ain't that good a Christian to think that I am so good that I can judge people. That's God's job, not mine. So as far as politics, I hate politics."
Additionally, she poignantly shares her position on the LGBTQ community. She details how she has gays, lesbians, transgender people, drug addicts, and drunks in her family and how it's important not to judge. "I just see how broken-hearted they get over certain things and I know how real they are.
"I know how important this is to them. That's who they are. They cannot help that any more than I can help being Dolly Parton... If there's something to be judged, that is God's business. But we are all God's children and how we are is who we are."
