'Of Course Black Lives Matter,' Dolly Parton Tells Billboard

Dolly Parton expressed her support for Black Lives Matter in an interview with Billboard, saying that while she hasn't attended any marches this summer, she supports the protest movement and its push for racial justice.

"I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen," she told the magazine. "And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!"

Two years ago, Parton renamed the Dixie Stampede dinner theater show — one of many business ventures she runs — after criticism in the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally. Today the Civil War-themed show is known as Dolly Parton's Stampede. (The renaming of the attraction was the subject of an episode of the podcast Dolly Parton's America).

In her interview with Billboard, Parton addressed that controversy, saying she was guilty of "innocent ignorance" and "would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose."

"When they said 'Dixie' was an offensive word, I thought, 'Well, I don't want to offend anybody. This is a business. We'll just call it The Stampede,' " she said. "As soon as you realize that [something] is a problem, you should fix it. Don't be a dumbass. That's where my heart is.

The country music group formerly known as The Dixie Chicks came to the same conclusion earlier this year.

The 74-year-old songwriter, singer, businesswoman and philanthropist also said her entire business empire has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, but she's still hopeful for the future.

Read the full profile at Billboard.

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