If You Ask Dolly Parton About Politics, She’ll Shut You Down: ‘I’m an Entertainer’
“I learned a long time ago to keep your damn mouth shut if you want to stay in show business.”
An ABC interviewer turns flips trying to get @DollyParton to badmouth @realDonaldTrump. It doesn’t work out so well. pic.twitter.com/AfN6ATuBGn
— Kyle Morris (@RealKyleMorris) March 4, 2018
Dolly Parton is an outspoken advocate for many causes, but don't ask her about politics. Nightline anchor David Wright learned this the hard way while sitting down with the country legend to chat about a variety of topics, not including President Donald Trump.
"I'm not being political," she warned him at the start of their interview. "I don't do politics. I'm not getting into any of that. I have a lot of fans out there and I don't want to offend anybody. Besides, I just don't get into that. If you are deciding you may want to ask me something more serious, don't, because I'm not going to answer it."
The topic wasn't totally out of left field — Parton was there to talk about the reprisal of her iconic film, 9 to 5 — but she was not willing to head in the direction Wright was taking her.
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Still, the interviewer pressed on, nudging further to get Parton's views on President Donald Trump and sexism. She stood firm, shutting down the questioning.
"I'm not addressing that. I do not get into that," she says in the clip above, adding:
"Of course I have my opinion about everybody and everything, but I learned a long time ago to keep your damn mouth shut if you want to stay in show business. I'm not in politics. I'm an entertainer. ”
"And yet, you are also a role model," the reporter continued, to which Parton quipped with a smile:
"Yes, I am, that's why I don't talk about people."
A sequel for 9 to 5 is currently in the works, with Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin all on board.
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