Move aside, everyone — Dolly Parton has entered the chat. Parton joined TikTok this week, proving once more that the legendary multi-hyphenate is not above having some good, old-fashioned fun. Since joining on Sunday, Parton has posted 11 videos, including a user-generated compilation set to Parton’s iconic “9 to 5,” clips from past performances and interviews, and baking bloopers.
One of my personal favorites? Parton’s take on potatoes (a clip from a past interview with WIRED), which simultaneously pays homage to the spud and her 1971 song, “She Never Met a Man (She Didn’t Like).” “Every diet I’ve ever fell off of has been because of a potato. Either French fries, or mashed potatoes, or baked potatoes,” Parton says in the video, as several green-screen potatoes begin to fill up the screen, until only the star’s face is visible and completely framed by the vegetable. “Potato, potato, potato — I never met a spud I didn’t like.”
Joining TikTok is already paying off; Parton has more than 780,000 followers and 2.6 million likes at the time of writing — not that this is surprising. The public has long heralded Parton as a national treasure for her star power, philanthropic efforts, and sweet-until-you-mess-with-me demeanor.
She’s also as busy as ever right now. Last month, Parton was finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And just this month, the powerhouse’s Christmas special, Dolly Parton’s Magic Mountain Christmas, premiered on NBC and Peacock. She’s also set to co-host Miley's New Year's Eve Party alongside her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus.
In the meantime, I’ll have my eyes glued to Parton’s TikTok to see what she comes up with next. A new TikTok dance? A spud-level original sound? In the words of one TikTok user, “Not everyone is a country music fan, but everyone is a Dolly Parton fan.” Truer words have never been written.
