Country music legend Dolly Parton speaks out on Black Lives Matter

Dolly Parton did not hold back in her thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement.

In an article published Thursday by Billboard, the country music icon said she is in support of the movement, founded in 2013, that has caught steam this summer during nationwide protests against police brutality and racism.

“I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen,” she said. “And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white a--es are the only ones that matter? No!”

Parton said she has not attended protests, but added Christian people should not judge one another.

Her comments come as the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked a noticeable shift in the country music genre. Lady Antebellum changed their name to Lady A and the Dixie Chicks are now just The Chicks, as the groups shed parts of their names that have Confederacy roots.

Parton has previously done the same. In 2018, her Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri, dinner attraction, Dixie Stampede, changed its name to Dolly Parton’s Stampede.

She told Billboard she learned how hurtful the term “Dixie” was.

“There’s such a thing as innocent ignorance, and so many of us are guilty of that,” she told Billboard. “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.’ As soon as you realize that (something) is a problem, you should fix it. Don’t be a dumba--. That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.”

This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 6:19 AM with the headline "Country music legend Dolly Parton speaks out on Black Lives Matter."