Dolly Parton shares her thoughts on the anti-transgender bills passed in Tennessee earlier this year.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporterthe “9 to 5” superstar said she wants “everyone to be treated well,” regarding transgender rights and the LGBTQ+ community in general.
“I try not to get into the politics of everything. I try to get into the human element,” Parton, 77, said. “I have a little bit of everyone in my immediate family and in my circle of employees.”
She added: “I have transgender people. I have gay people. I have lesbians. I have drunks. I have drug addicts — all in my family. I know and love them all, and I don’t judge.”
Dolly Parton.
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Parton also said she sees “how much heartbreak they go through over certain things” within the LGBTQ+ community and understands “how real they are.”
“I know how important this is to them. It’s them,” she continued. “They can’t help it any more than I can’t help being Dolly Parton, you know, as people know me.”
The “Jolene” singer concluded, “If there’s anything to judge, it’s God’s business. But we’re all God’s children and we are who we are.”
In March, Tennessee passed a law that seeks to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community by defining “gender” as a person’s “immutable biological sex as determined by the anatomy and genetics present at birth and evidence of a person’s biological sex.” Later that month, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee also signed a bill banning transgender athletes. These are just a few examples of the record anti-trans laws introduced across the country this year.
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Dolly Parton.
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While Parton mostly stays away from talking about politics, she has been vocal about her support for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2016, she revealed to Pride Source that she was helping some of her loved ones through the discovery process.
“Actually, I’ve had a lot of people over the years that I’ve helped make them feel good. I say, ‘You have to let people know who you are and you have to get out. You don’t have to live your life in the dark – what’s the point? You will never be happy; you will be sick. You’re not going to be healthy if you try to suppress your feelings and who you are.’”
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Dolly Parton.
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“I have a huge gay and lesbian following and I’m proud of them, I love them and I think everyone should be who they are and be allowed to be who they are, whatever they are,” she said.
Parton also said that the LGBTQ+ people in her life shaped her perspective.
“I know for sure that the homosexuals I know are the most sensitive and caring of all. I think they go through so much that they have to live with their feelings on their sleeves,” she said.
Parton added: “They’ve had to go through so much that I think they’re very emotional and tender and more open to feelings, so I’ve just learned the same things I try to learn from everybody. I know they are good people and I tried to learn from it. Most gay people I know just want to make the world a better place like me.”
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Source: HIS Education