Dolly Parton supports Britney Spears: ‘I went through a lot of that myself’

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Dolly Parton was a remote guest on Watch What Happens Live last week. I think she’s promoting her new perfume with HSN, Scent From Above. One of the call in questions was about Dolly’s support of Britney Spears. At first Dolly said that she didn’t want to get into other people’s business and that she wished Britney well. Then Dolly said that she could relate to Britney because she got sued by her former producer and collaborator, Porter Wagoner, for breach of contract. Here’s what she said and the video is below.

During an appearance Thursday on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” the legendary country star was asked about Britney Spears and her conservatorship battle.
“Well, I try to not get involved in other people’s business,” Parton said. “I think she is a wonderful artist and I think she’s a wonderful girl and I only wish her the best.”
Spears has been fighting to end having her father, Jamie Spears, legally control her life and career.

“I understand all those crazy things,” she said. “I went through a lot of that myself through a big lawsuit in my early days with Porter Wagoner trying to get out on my own.

“I understand where she is coming from and how she feels. So, I hope that all turns out the way that it should.”

[From CNN]

Our first instinct is to relate to someone. That’s what Dolly did here and she meant well. With all due respect to Dolly, I don’t think she’s familiar with Britney Spears’s case. I would guess she assumes that Britney’s father is controlling her money and that’s the extent of it. I doubt she’s heard that Britney has an IUD she’s not allowed to remove or that Britney can’t get a manicure or see a friend without a team of people signing off on it. From what I read about Dolly’s 1979 case, all the money she made at the beginning of her career went toward paying off Porter’s lawsuit, so I imagine it was tough for her. Beyond the financial issues her case is not similar to Britney’s.

Meanwhile Britney has posted quite a bit on Instagram recently. The latest was a cute illustration where she’s getting ice cream with Cher. This is a reference to Cher’s tweet saying she would take Britney to St. Tropez.

Here’s that clip:

Britney also posted this:

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photos credit: Avalon.red and via Instagram

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14 Responses to “Dolly Parton supports Britney Spears: ‘I went through a lot of that myself’”

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  1. TIFFANY says:

    I think that was Dolly’s Dolly way of saying Jamie is garbage, just like Porter was.

    That’s alright, Dolly is still cashing those I Will Always Love You checks and his estate can’t touch it. Good.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      I don’t know much about the Porter case but didn’t he try and stop her from branching out on her own and that he wanted to continue to control her and her career even after they parted ways?

      • TIFFANY says:

        Yup. Dolly knew her worth and was ready to get down to business and she knew she could not be where she is with him as a manager. He knew it to.

        The fact that she bought his catalog when he was broke and returned it for 1 dollar says so much about her and her trip to heaven will be quick, fast and in a hurry.

      • Anna says:

        Wow @TIFFANY I’ve loved Dolly Parton all my life but knowing this detail about her returning Porter’s catalog for a dollar, that’s absolutely beyond. She truly is an angel on earth.

    • Lurker25 says:

      About that “I will always love you” money- she’s been donating it to African American causes for 30 years. Never said a word until a recently. The woman is a living legend in every possible way.

    • Mac says:

      She invested those I Will Always Love You checks into an historically black neighborhood in Nashville, once again proving what an incredible person she is.

  2. kimberly says:

    I am not gonna talk crap about Dolly. She is a lady in her 70s that has kept a relatively low profile when she’s not promoting. Who cares that she’s not current on the entertainment news?

    I finally finished the deep dive part 7 cannot wait for season 2!! it was VERY informative and recommended for everyone. Part 7 came out last week.

  3. Soupie says:

    Oh I love the matches IG. Bring it, Britney. I just want a GOOD conservator for her. The guy her attorney wants, a Josh something, would be good. Why does Britney still want that Jodi woman??

    As for Dolly, I love her and I love that dress in the photo.

  4. Amber says:

    Porter Wagoner was famously incredibly controlling of Dolly and tried to sue her in effect to keep her from going out on her own and becoming a big star. It wasn’t just the money–he also bad-mouthed her in interviews and verbally abused her in front of other people. he really did try to sabotage her career once he realized she would be the bigger star than him. Obviously it’s nowhere near as horrible as what Britney has been subjected to, but I do think Dolly can relate to it more than a lot of other celebrities. She also wrote a song called “Daddy Come And Get Me” in the sixties, which is about a woman being committed to a mental hospital by her husband so he can go and cheat on her without having to deal with her getting mad at him. Dolly has said that literally happened to someone in her family, an aunt or cousin I think. Her husband had her committed because he just didn’t want to deal with her anymore. So in Dolly’s own family there have been examples of women being locked away to make life easier for some man. There are a lot of songs like that in her catalogue, specifically about the ways women are hard done by men. I just think Dolly has long had a policy where she avoids commenting on current affairs most of the time.

  5. Lasagna_jones says:

    I just came here to say that I love Dolly. And I got a sample of her new perfume and Lordy, was it awful. Just terrible, awful. It’s the one negative thing that shows she’s human, I guess.

    • Monica says:

      Ha! I ordered a sample. Can’t wait to find out how it smells, good or bad!

      I’m actually relieved to see Dolly possibly being mistaken about Britney’s situation. I know how badly we need heroes and angels right now, but she gets to be human, too.

    • Velvet Elvis says:

      I ordered a sample of it months ago. I don’t think it’s bad, just too “perfumey” for my taste. I prefer a cleaner and lighter scent. My granddaughter loves Dolly’s perfume though. Smells good on her.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      My sample is expected to arrive the 5th or 6th. Hopefully I’ll like it.

  6. Mrs. Smith says:

    The best primer on Dolly & Porter is Drunk History, with Dolly played by Casey Wilson. It is absolutely amazing and hilarious!