Dolly Parton Celebrates 50 Years in Nashville: 'Jolene' Singer Talks LGBT Community, Says Judging Them Is A Sin
Billboard is celebrating the 50th Anniversary since country icon Dolly Parton, 68, arrived in Nashville.
In 1964, on the day after her high school graduation, Parton left the Smoky Mountains of Sevier County, Tennessee, for Music City.
In the recent interview with writer Deborah Evans Price at Nashville's NorthStar Studios, the Leading Lady of Country talked business, and her 48-year marriage to husband Carl Dean while delivering a message to fellow Christians who are intolerant of the LGBT community.
"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," Parton said in the interview for Billboard magazine. "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."
Price also questioned the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee-based Dollywood theme park, which has become a draw for the LGBT community and annually hosts nearly 2.5 million visitors.
"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," Parton said.
Parton previously penned the Oscar-nominated theme song for "Transamerica," the 2005 independent transgender-themed black comedy-drama. According to MSNBC, in July she also previewed a track called "Just a Wee Bit Gay," which is rumored to be a part of a handful of pro-gay dance songs for an upcoming album.
The self-described "Backwoods Barbie," who has won seven Grammys and set a record for a female artist after she scored 25 No. 1 songs on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart with songs such as "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You," has had a banner year.
In 2014, Parton's 42nd studio album, "Blue Smoke," debuted at No. 2 on Top Country Albums. She ended a popular world tour, which included performing for 170,000 at the United Kingdom's Glastonbury Festival. Parton found further achievement by scoring her highest-charting solo album by hitting No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
Parton has come a long way from making her rounds on "The Porter Wagoner Show," a syndicated music-variety series, and trying to be taken seriously as a country pop star.
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