Dolly Parton Was a Quiet Liberal

Unlike so many other performers who feel they must speak out on political issues, even though it’s been proven that their views do not influence voters, just ask Al Gore, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton if you don’t believe me, Dolly Parton rarely spoke publicly about her political leanings.

Instead, she largely let her actions and philanthropic giving do the talking. The causes she supported were meant to benefit everyone: Democrats, Republicans, independents and people who had no interest in politics. That’s why, when the news of her death was announced, tributes came from Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives. Her announced politics, if you want to call it that, was to help people “in need.”

“Everybody knows I don't do politics because my mother was a Democrat, my daddy was a Republican, so I'm a hypocrat,” she joked in 2017 when asked on Fox & Friends why she had not joined Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s anti-Trump remarks at the Emmys.

“I've got as many Republican fans as Democrats, and I don't want to make any of them mad at me, so I don't play politics. Plus, I'm an entertainer, I don’t usually voice my opinion in a situation like that,” she added.

Ms. Parton made similar remarks about politics throughout her career.

But being a pundit means that you have to make people think you know everything. As political analyst Jeff Greenfield said on election night 2004, “I’m going to say what’s never supposed to be said on cable: I don’t know.”

But unlike Mr. Greenfield, in order to keep me from being kicked out of the pundit’s club, I will never admit that I don’t know everything, even when I don’t (which is quite often, as my wife tells me. She points to my stock picks and handicapping record at racetracks as evidence).

So here’s my opinion, based on Parton’s philanthropy and some of the positions she did take publicly: I believe her political leanings were left of center and that she definitely was not a MAGA fan.

Parton herself chose not to tell us how she voted, so I can’t prove that. But looking at the causes she supported, the positions she occasionally took publicly and where she chose to put her considerable resources, the pundit in me sees someone whose instincts frequently aligned with positions associated with the political left.

Here’s my reasoning:

Public Health: In 2020, Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to establish the Dolly Parton COVID-19 Research Fund. Vanderbilt researchers played a key role in the development and testing of one of the first COVID-19 vaccines, and Vanderbilt researcher Dr. Mark Denison later said Parton’s money helped fund critical early research connected to the Moderna vaccine.

LGBTQ+ Community: Parton was a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and publicly advocated acceptance rather than judgment. Her connection went beyond words. In 1994, she contributed a song to an album benefiting HIV/AIDS research and participated with other country music stars in an AIDS awareness campaign aimed at rural communities.

Racial Justice: Parton generally stayed away from political controversies, but she wasn't always silent. In 2020, she publicly voiced her support for the Black Lives Matter movement. She also revealed that she had invested some of the royalties from Whitney Houston’s recording of “I Will Always Love You” in an office complex in a predominantly Black Nashville neighborhood.

Direct Aid: Following the devastating 2016 Tennessee wildfires, Parton created the My People Fund, which provided families who lost their primary residences with $1,000 a month for six months. More than $12 million was ultimately distributed to affected families.

Childhood Literacy: Her signature initiative, the Imagination Library, began in 1995 by providing free books to young children in her home county in Tennessee and grew into an international literacy program that has distributed hundreds of millions of books.

Disaster Relief and Rural Support: Parton repeatedly directed substantial resources toward working-class and rural Appalachian communities. Following Hurricane Helene in 2024, she personally donated $1 million to relief efforts, with her businesses and foundation providing additional support.

Pediatric Healthcare: Children's health was another major focus of her philanthropy. Her support of Vanderbilt Health and Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt spanned decades and included significant contributions to pediatric cancer care and infectious disease research.

Does all of this prove that Dolly Parton was a liberal? No. She never gave us her voting record, and generosity, compassion and helping your neighbors certainly don't belong to one political party.

But pundits are paid to have opinions, so here's mine.

Even though she was a deeply religious, proud daughter of the South, the pundit in me believes that Ms. Parton had liberal leanings. More importantly, unlike too many other name performers, she generally chose to speak with her actions and her wallet instead of with her mouth.

And perhaps that's one reason people across the political spectrum loved her.