When Dolly Parton spoke, one could tell she always had her tongue planted firmly in her cheek — and I’m not just talking about the way she’d deliver her “S” sounds with a slight whistle, courtesy of her distinctly lovable Appalachian twang. Parton was a one-woman, two-boobed joke factory, arriving at every interview, stage performance and public appearance with at least 10 punchlines locked and loaded. Quips fell out of her like apples from a tree, ripening and landing at just the right time in any conversation. And as skilled as she was at this repartee, it never came off overly practiced. She could deliver the same line five different times, and it still wouldn’t grow dull, because Parton simply wasn’t a dull person. She was lively and in on the joke from the very beginning. When you’re a flaxen-haired woman in country music, and the very first song on your very first studio album is called “Dumb Blonde,” you’re working with a home-court advantage.
But Parton didn’t just use her bubbly humor to make people laugh. She implemented wry wit like a tactical defense, a trusty tool in her arsenal that could disarm an opponent and defuse tricky conversations. Parton also knew how to tailor her jokes to any moment. She did this countless times across her decades of unwavering support for the queer community, softening and sharpening her humor according to the severity of whatever topic she waded into. In a 2016 appearance on “CNN Money,” Parton commented on North Carolina’s now-infamous “Bathroom Bill,” one of the first major pieces of anti-trans legislation to become discourse in the hyper-digital era. As always, Parton led with a message of steadfast reverence for her fellow humans. “I think everybody should be treated with respect,” she began. “I don’t judge people. I try not to get caught up in all the controversy of things. I hope everybody gets a chance to be who and what they are.” With that cleared up, Parton readied her rhinestone mic-drop: “I just know if I have to pee, I’m gon’ pee. I don’t care where it’s going to be.”
