Dolly Parton, who has quite a large following of gay fans, loves them and says she's happy to welcome them to Dollywood. The legendary country star says people should be allowed to be themselves, and Christians should think twice before passing judgment.
"They know that I completely love and accept them, as I do all people,"
Parton tells Billboard. "I've struggled enough in my life to be appreciated and understood. I've had to go against all kinds of people through the years just to be myself. I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love. I don't think we should be judgmental. Lord, I've got enough problems of my own to pass judgment on somebody else."
She specifically mentioned that Christians who don't accept gay people have their own sin to deal with.
"But as far as the Christians, if people want to pass judgment, they're already sinning. The sin of judging is just as bad as any other sin they might say somebody else is committing," Parton told Billboard. "I try to love everybody."
Dollywood, a Tennessee theme park that draws many LGBTQ fans, as well as many families and church groups, Billboard notes, is open to everybody, Parton emphasized.
She also tweeted along the same lines:
In the same interview, Parton talked about her 48-year marriage — her best advice is to respect each other — and not having kids. She said though she and husband Carl Dean didn't prevent having children, it never happened.
"Now I say, 'God didn't mean for me to have kids so everybody's kids could be mine.' I'm very close to my family — five of my younger brothers and sisters lived with me and Carl for many years — and we're very close to our nieces and nephews. Now that Carl and I are older, we often say, "Aren't you glad we didn't have kids? Now we don't have kids to worry about," she told Billboard.
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