Dolly Parton didn’t like to get involved in politics. It was by choice.
“I don't like to get involved in politics, because first of all, I have as many Republican fans as I do Democrats,” Parton said in a 2020 interview with USA TODAY. “I don't want to offend anybody, I have a right to myself.”
“Like God gave us free will, America gave us free speech, but you've got to be responsible for anything you say and do,” she added.
Parton, the “Queen of Country," died on Aug. 25 at the age of 80.
Tributes for the legendary singer and songwriter came pouring in across the political spectrum shortly after the news of her death – from President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Republican
Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.
During the 2020 interview, Parton said “really I'm more about the person and about the message.” She said she would watch both Fox News and CNN – the former considered more conservative while the latter appeals to liberals – “out of curiosity because it's good television.”
Parton topped the list of global figures in an April poll, with a net favorability of 65%. The survey, which was conducted by University of Massachusetts and YouGov, found that 70% of respondents had a favorable impression, while 5% had an unfavorable impression. The person who came in a distant second: President Barack Obama.
Despite her aversion to talking about politics, she found herself in Washington, DC, in recent years. She made her 100 millionth book donation from her Imagination Library – a book-gifting program that gives registered children a free book from the time they are born until they are 5 years old – to the Library of Congress’s collection back in 2018.
Two separate presidents, Trump and Joe Biden, also tried to give her a Presidential Medal of Freedom. She declined it three times. (Trump tried to give it to her twice.)
Parton described the partisan media landscape as “crazy” and “lunacy.”
“I am not political, and I refuse to get caught up in political things,” Parton said in the 2020 interview. “I just look at it, and I just think what I think. I'm just saying, 'Good Lord, what are these people doing? Crazy. They don't care about us.'"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dolly Parton didn’t talk much about politics. It was by choice.
