Dolly Parton Sees Good In People, Has Faith In Her God-Daughter Miley Cyrus
Legendary country singer and icon Dolly Parton tends to look for the best in people. It’s as much a part of who she is as her unconventional flair and Southern charm. In an interview with Nick Grimshaw of The BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show on the 4th of July, Dolly Parton spoke of her confidence in her god-daughter Miley Cyrus.
No stranger to wander-lust, Dolly Parton was raised in a tiny cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee as the fourth of twelve children. She knew that she was loved and secure, but Dolly always dreamed of something more. And she got it.
Her flamboyant style, blonde wigs, and sass are as much a part of Dolly Parton‘s claim to fame as her incredible, distinctive voice. She didn’t get where she is today by following the rules of convention about what was expected of a good little country girl singer. Young Dolly took chances and allowed herself to be the talk of the town. Her strategy worked for her because today Dolly Parton is one of the top country music recording artists of all time.
Now Dolly’s god-daughter is every bit as unconventional as she was, and then some. The times have changed and the style in which Miley Cyrus rebels against society is different, but Dolly Parton is quick to be gracious to Miley. She seems to identify with Miley’s apparent need for shock value to break out of her Pollyanna-Purebred image of Hannah Montana. Parton told Grimshaw:
“I believe she’s going to make the right choices. She’s had to go a little drastic now and then just to prove her point, but I have got a lot of faith in her and I’m hoping she does great because she is gifted and special.”
Dolly Parton once played Hannah Montana’s god-mother on the TV show, and she is the real-life god-mother of Miley Cyrus. She has watched her grow up. “She’s a great talent, Miley, who I’ve known ever since she was a tiny little baby.”
Miley’s outlandish antics don’t appear to frighten or worry Dolly too much, because she can relate. Dolly Parton recently told the UK’s Sunday Times how much she understands 21-year-old Cyrus:
“Yeah, well I do, ’cause back in the day, doing my own things my own way, and dressing sexy and showing my cleavage and all that, I got a lot of criticism. Lots of people thought I was making a mistake and that I was just trashy, which I was. So I did go through that, but I don’t give her advice. Everyone has to walk this journey according to their own rules. That’s what she’s doing. And I lurve her.”
Those sentiments echo Dolly’s statements to Time as shedefends the desperate need that Miley felt to break away from her Disney image:
“If I didn’t know how smart and talented Miley is, I might worry about her. But I’ve watched her grow up. So I don’t. She knows what she’s doing. She was very proud of the work she did as Hannah Montana, but people were gonna leave her there forever. And she was just smotherin’ and chokin’ in it. So she felt she had to do something completely drastic. And she did. She made her point, she made her mark, and more power to her… I’m hoping that now she can relax and show people how talented she really is. ‘Cause the girl can write. The girl can sing. The girl is smart. And she doesn’t have to be so drastic. But I will respect her choices. I did it my way, so why can’t she do it her way?
Dolly Parton’s graciousness to Miley Cyrus comes through loud and clear as she declares to BBC: “I try to see the good in everything and in everybody and I try to bring that out. I’m very accepting of people no matter who and what they are.” She has faith that Miley Cyrus will come through this season just as Dolly Parton herself made it through. What do you think of her perspective?
[Images via Bing]
