Dolly Parton has denied longtime rumors
that she is secretly gay.
The 66-year-old Parton, known as the
Queen of Country Music, is promoting her memoir Dream More.
In an interview with Nightline,
Parton, who has been married to Carl Dean for 46 years, discussed
rumors she is romantically involved with childhood friend Judy Ogle.
Oprah Winfrey has also long been accused of having a lesbian
relationship with her best friend, CBS This Morning
co-host Gayle King.
“Like Gayle, her friend, Judy, my
friend, they just think that you just can't be that close to
somebody,” Parton
said. “Judy and I have been best friends since we were like in
the third and fourth grade … We still just have a great friendship
and relationship and I love her as much as I love anybody in the
whole world, but we're not romantically involved.”
Parton added that when she started “Gay
Day” at her theme park, Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, she
got threats from the Ku Klux Klan.
“When it first started there were
people giving us threats, I still get threats,” she said. “But
like I said, I'm in business. I just don't feel like I have to
explain myself. I love everybody.” (The video is embedded on this
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