Dolly Parton is addressing backlash over her new song with Kid Rock.
Later this month, the 77-year-old “Jolene” singer will be releasing her new album titled Rockstar and on it, she has a collaboration with the controversial 52-year-old “All Summer Long” singer.
Ahead of the album’s release, Dolly responded to backlash over her collab with Kid Rock while also addressing cancel culture.
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While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Dolly said, “Somebody was talking to me the other day, ‘How could you do this (song) with Kid?’ I said, ‘Hey, just because I love you don’t mean I don’t love Kid Rock. Just because I love Kid Rock don’t mean I don’t love you.’ I don’t condemn or criticize. I just accept and love.”
She went on to say that she did the song with Kid Rock “before the controversy that he had,” although it’s unclear which controversy to which she was referring. Earlier this year Kid Rock shot up several cases of Bud Light after the beer brand partnered with trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney.
“I’d have probably still done it, because he is a gifted guy, and that song was about a bad boy; it was about a boy that was cheating and mistreating her,” Dolly explained. “But like I say, I love everybody. I don’t criticize, I don’t condone nor condemn. I just accept them. But anyhow, just because I love you don’t mean I don’t love Kid Rock in that God way.”
When asked about cancel culture, Dolly called it “terrible.”
“We all make mistakes. We don’t all get caught at it. But also when somebody makes a mistake, it depends on who they are,” Dolly said. “That’s what God is there for. Now, I happen to believe in God; I’m a faith-based person, so therefore I am able to see it like that.”
She continued, “A lot of people don’t, but even still, everybody deserves a second chance. You deserve to be innocent until you’re proven guilty. Even when you’re proven guilty, if God can forgive you, so can I. If God can forgive you, we all should forgive one another.”
Also in the interview, Dolly explained why she has repeatedly turned down doing the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Dolly will be releasing Rockstar – featuring collabs with Miley Cyrus, Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Lizzo – on November 17.