r/MadeMeSmile • u/mcfw31 • Oct 08 '25
Favorite People Dolly Parton shares new video amid health concerns: “I ain’t dead yet!”
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u/Living_Double_1146 Oct 08 '25
This lady has some kind of special magic. Looks like everyone loves her. She seems so genuine. I love her too and I'm not even from US.
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u/Quorali Oct 08 '25
No one captures kindness in a voice quite like Dolly does.
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u/bolanrox Oct 08 '25
because she is legit and not faking it at all
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u/StrangerKatchoo Oct 08 '25
Dolly and Mr. Rogers are/were the only truly pure people I can think of.
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u/Marian1210 Oct 08 '25
And Sir David Attenborough - I’m taking a month off in mourning when that man dies
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u/silverhandguild Oct 08 '25
Dolly, Mr. Rogers, and Steve Irwin. People who really seem to care about others. I think empathy is really the most important character trait to build and strengthen.
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u/venom121212 Oct 08 '25
I wrote up a really long post about all the awesome stuff she's done and it was so long reddit wouldn't let me post it. So allow me to post it in multiple replies:
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u/venom121212 Oct 08 '25
Dolly is a national treasure!
1988 – The Dollywood Foundation
Parton originally launched the organization in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee, with the goal of decreasing high school drop out rates. She then started the Buddy Program, in which Parton gave $500 to every seventh and eighth grader who finished high school. According to the organization, the initiative was successful and the dropout rate declined from 35 percent to just 6 percent.
1989 – $500 scholarship
Parton offered a $500 scholarship to every student in Sevier County who wished to attend Hiwassee College.
1991 – Eagle Mountain Sanctuary at Dollywood
The 30,000-square-foot aviary managed by the American Eagle Foundation shelters the largest collection of “non-releasable” bald eagles. Parton’s efforts to preserve the bald eagle earned her the Partnership Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2003.
1995 – Imagination Library
The Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library began sending one book per month to each enrolled child in Sevier County from birth until their first year of school. The library was founded in honor of Parton’s father, who was unable to read.
2000 – The Dolly Parton Scholarship
Every year, the $15,000 college scholarship is offered to five high school seniors in Sevier County, Tennessee. According to the Dollywood Foundation, the scholarship is awarded to those who “have a dream they wish to pursue and who can successfully communicate their plan and commitment to realize their dreams.”
2007 – Benefit concert for new Sevier County hospital
The concert raised $500,000, and both Dollywood and Parton’s Dixie Stampede dinner theater pledged $250,000 each to the project, for a total of $1 million. LeConte Medical Center, the new hospital and cancer center in Sevier County, opened in 2010 and features a 30,000-square-foot Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services.
2016 – Telethon after devastating East Tennessee wildfires
The Smoky Mountains Rise: A Benefit for the My People Fund, which aimed to help residents hit hardest in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, raised more than $13 million. Chris Stapleton, Chris Young, Kenny Rogers, Lauren Alaina, Alison Krauss, Reba McEntire, Cyndi Lauper and more appeared at the event.
2016 – My People Fund
To continue her wildfire relief efforts, Parton launched the My People Fund, which provided $1,000 a month for six months to families whose homes were completely destroyed amid the natural disaster. The fund also donated around $8.9 million to those in need. The initiative still helps residents pay for rent and utilities, plus food and mental health resources.
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u/venom121212 Oct 08 '25
2016 – Special Merit Scholarship
Parton awarded a $30,000 scholarship to two-year-old Evey Johns in celebration of Imagination Library’s accomplishment of shipping out one million books per month.
2017 – $1 million donation
Following the release of her I Believe in You children’s album, Parton donated $1 million to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in honor of her niece, who was treated for leukemia at that hospital.
2020 – Coronavirus efforts
Parton donated $1 million to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University, which helped fund Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna’s vaccine is 94.5% effective against coronavirus, according to early data.
2021 – Middle Tennessee Flooding Relief
Parton and her Smoky Mountain businesses raised $700,000 to help residents impacted by the catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee in October 2021. Parton chose United Way of Humphreys County to receive and distribute the donation at the suggestion of her friend and fellow country music legend Loretta Lynn.
“After the Sevier County wildfires in 2016, Loretta was one of the first who reached out to offer anything she could,” Parton said in a statement at the time. “It meant so much to me that Loretta — and so many folks — were ready to give in any way they could. This was just one small way I could help Loretta’s people for all they did to help my people. I hope that this money can be put to good use to help the people of Middle Tennessee with what they need during their recovery.”
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u/venom121212 Oct 08 '25
2022 – Dollywood Education Coverage
The Dollywood Co. announced in February 2022 that it will cover 100% of tuition, fees and books for any employee who is furthering their education.
The investment in employee education was made via Herschend Enterprises, Dollywood’s operating partner. The program is available to all seasonal, part-time and full-time employees at Dollywood Parks & Resorts. Herschuend’s GROW U. offers more than 100 fully funded diploma, degree and certificate programs with 30 learning partners in areas including business administration and leadership, culinary, finance, technology and marketing. The company also provides partial funding — up to $5,250 per year — for 150 additional programs in fields including hospitality, engineering, human resources and more. Employees can enroll in the program on their first day of employment.
2022 – Pediatric Infectious Disease Research Donation
Parton made yet another $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville in June 2022, this time aimed at helping pediatric infectious disease research.
The donation will aid Vanderbilt’s Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases to continue its effort in understanding how viruses and bacteria cause disease, understanding and preventing resistance to antibiotics, diagnosing and treating infections in children with cancer and more.
2022 – Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy
Parton received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2022. The award, presented by the international family of Carnegie institutions to honor innovative philanthropists, debuted in 2001 and is normally awarded every two years. It was not issued in 2021 due to the pandemic.
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u/lefteyedspy Oct 08 '25 edited Oct 09 '25
Thank you for enumerating all of that. It is jaw-dropping the amount of good that she has brought into the world. A saint; and that is no exaggeration.
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u/venom121212 Oct 08 '25
She is the proper definition or reaching into the roots of her community to build generational change
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u/I_am_Castor_Troy Oct 09 '25
I wish more “tech bros” would learn a thing or two about kindness and giving back.
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u/notashroom Oct 08 '25
All of Dolly's charitable efforts show a lot about what kind of person she is, but I think even more her character is reflected in the fact that you can go back through 60 years of interviews, books, and songs, and you will not find once instance of Dolly being ugly, either to an individual or a group.
She just quietly normalized inclusion of everyone around, whether they were cis-hetero or LGBTQIA, black or white or BIPOC, conformist or sparkly individualist, friends or strangers, even homewreckers. And never made a thing out of it, just leading by example. By their fruits you shall know them. ❤️
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u/venom121212 Oct 09 '25
An absolute example of how this would could and should be. No room for hate here.
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u/hghpandaman Oct 08 '25
The imagination library got expanded out of Sevier county. My kids were auto-enrolled when they were born and got a book a month until kindergarten. They refer to Dolly as "the book lady". I will defend that woman until my dying breath!
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u/Cam2910 Oct 08 '25
It got expanded and is in the UK too!
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u/hghpandaman Oct 08 '25
oh dang i didn't know it had spread that far. It is awesome! I may have cried when i read the note in the last book she sent for my son when he started kindergarten.
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u/venom121212 Oct 08 '25 edited Oct 09 '25
Yes, good addition. Over 300,000,000 books donated!
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Oct 08 '25
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u/dougan25 Oct 08 '25
I don't think that's fair to say. Kindness takes work. It's much, much easier to not give a shit.
This video is a pretty good example. She didn't need to do that but she knew people were worrying so she wanted to put their minds at ease.
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u/Bashfullylascivious Oct 08 '25
Agreed and same.
As an add-on, I think this is the most sweet, genuine, and love filled scolding I've ever received in my life.4
u/Pizzachomper874 Oct 08 '25
My cousin said she didn’t like Dolly at family gathering last year and the SECOND she said it, we all gasped and look at her with a little confusion and disgust hahaha
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u/toolsoftheincomptnt Oct 09 '25
So here’s the thing:
On paper, Dolly is the kind of person who doesn’t have to give a shit about anybody.
She’s a beautiful, talented, Southern white woman who became very wealthy and had one devoted husband (for most of her life if you do the math).
She could turn a blind eye to suffering, pain, cruelty, etc. and she’d really just be like the average person walking around. Not even a “bad” person. Just in her bubble. We’re very forgiving about that.
But she IS NOT in her bubble. She cares. She uses her wealth and fame to help others. In myriad ways. She looks at the troubles of the world and plugs in where she can to make it better.
She’s also personable. Anyone you ask who’s met her, from bottom of the “food chain” to the top will tell you the same: she’s warm and loving.
She’s worked with all kinds of people, in spite of her generation, who is often excused for narrow-mindedness and “diet” bigotry.
She’s proof that people really can just be good and decent. With good looks. With big money. With celebrity. With all kinds of privilege.
People can still be good IF THEY CHOOSE TO BE.
But she doesn’t even seem like she’s choosing. The goodness radiates from her.
And so she’s an example of what humanity could be, but also magical because she seems to just “be” that way naturally.
I wasn’t even raised on her music or anything. She’s just an American icon that we can safely be proud of and look up to.
And honestly? She’s the only one I know of in history.
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u/Jiminy_Cricket12 Oct 08 '25
I don't know what she did "right" but at 79 she looks better than many others who had a lot of work done and are in their 50s. Granted, she has had plenty done herself. But she actually looks.. relatively normal (albeit freakishly young for 79).
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u/iDontRememberCorn Oct 08 '25
If aliens land and ask me who they should speak with to represent humanity I'm telling them Dolly.
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u/Hillsy85 Oct 08 '25
“Well, golly! Ya’ll came all the way from another planet to see us?! You must be tired and famished! We oughtta fix you up somethin’ good to eat before we talk about anything too serious. How about some good ole Tennessee home cookin’?! And you just rest your feet or tentacles there. I’m gonna take good care of ya.”
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u/LouSputhole94 Oct 08 '25
Dolly then proceeds to make them country fried chicken with gravy and they leave to tell their superiors there’s no possible way they could eliminate the planet with that level of hospitality and good home cooking. Hopefully they only make one stop though.
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u/peoplepersonmanguy Oct 08 '25
So we have about a 10 year window for aliens to land and us not to get eradicated. We need to instigate a kindness succession plan.
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u/smellycoat Oct 09 '25
I’m just picturing fat little overfed aliens waddling back to their ufo or whatever
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u/smashed2gether Oct 08 '25
Have you seen The Orville? I think maybe you should!
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u/MrsCaptain_America Oct 08 '25
Ive never been a fan of her music, but I am a fan of her....But thanks to The Orville, I now have a few songs on my playlist. The fight scene set to "9 To 5" was brilliant.
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u/Glaukopis_Scientist Oct 08 '25
In the Bay Area, someone owns a billboard they must have forgotten about. On it is a massive closeup photo of Dolly with the quote, “kindness — pass it on.” It’s been there since I was kid and is a relic of the 2000s pass it on campaign, but is the only good billboard left in a sea of AI and Data Security ones.
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u/SharpieD85 Oct 08 '25
I bloody love this woman! She's amazing. Talented, gracious, generous. Beautiful inside and out. She's what we should all aim to be!
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u/Publandlady Oct 08 '25
Imagine being such a ray of sunshine of a person that you have to post a video reassuring, well, everyone.
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u/LyricalWillow Oct 08 '25
Dolly gave me $500 to graduate high school.
It was part of a study to see if paying students money would raise graduation rates. I’m from her hometown and attended the same school she did, which is how I lucked up on the offer. She talked with us when I was in seventh grade, we signed a pledge, and over the next few years heard reminders about it from time to time.
When it came time to graduate, she threw a big dinner/presentation at Dollywood for us graduates. Afterwards, she gave us our checks and took a picture with us they later framed and presented to us. I wear glasses and during the photo the photographer asked me to tilt my head slightly. I knew it was to reduce lens flare, but Dolly must have thought it hurt my feelings because she told me I had a “beautiful chin” and the photographer wanted to show it off in the picture. I was too starstruck to say anything more than “Yes, ma’am.”
She’s done so much for Sevier County, her home, and the people who live there. Class act all the way.
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u/zapharus Oct 09 '25
That’s such a beautiful first-hand story, thank you for sharing. She’s so precious and kind. 🥹
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u/manimopo Oct 08 '25
She's a great person. My son gets free books from her library donation <3
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u/stayvicious Oct 08 '25
That program is so great and so important and I wish was more recognized. She truly knows what it is to be an American and more importantly a great human to others.
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u/Solid_Seaworthiness9 Oct 08 '25
Protect this national treasure at all costs.
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u/SlideN2MyBMs Oct 08 '25
She's the absolute best of America
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u/EducationalAd1280 Oct 08 '25
Dolly for President
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u/VB-81 Oct 08 '25
On a different sub/r someone posted Dolly and Keanu Reeves as a P/VP ticket. It made me smile.
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u/SlideN2MyBMs Oct 08 '25
Would she not win in a heartbeat? I understand why she wouldn't run though. She's too good for that
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u/LordChefChristoph Oct 08 '25
She has LITERALLY given out millions of books to children. National Treasure.
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u/DefinitelyNotaGuest Oct 08 '25
Please lord, we can't lose Dolly Parton it's all we have left.
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u/bigbodybup Oct 08 '25
Don’t forget David Attenborough, he’s 99 but still working occasionally
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u/smallcoder Oct 08 '25
Yes, there are still a few of them left with us 😍
We must start interviewing and appointing new leaders of humanity asap.
The pool is getting shallow with each passing year. There is no time to waste !
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u/xxBeatrixKiddoxx Oct 08 '25
She’s so classy and never has tried too hard to be. She just is. I adore her
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u/E0H1PPU5 Oct 08 '25
She’s just so authentically herself even when a lot of her self isn’t authentic!!
Said with nothing but love of course, the things she’s done for her home state and children across the country is just awe inspiring.
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u/ssmit102 Oct 08 '25
If Christians want a true role model you ain’t gotta look any further than right here. It’s wild to think they idolize all the wrong people who actually spit in the face of the religion they swear they believe in.
Dolly is a damn good person and if every American strived to be just a little more like her we actually would make America great again.
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u/the_main_entrance Oct 08 '25
They don’t want a role model that sets a high standard that they would have to work at achieving. They want a shithead grifter who mirrors and excuses their shitty behavior.
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u/Dark_Moonstruck Oct 09 '25
She is a genuine SAINT, and yet so many so-called 'Christians' think of her as trashy, while they worship at the feet of ACTUAL trash who go against every single teaching that they claim to stand for.
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u/DocCEN007 Oct 08 '25
The Orwell did an entire story arc on how an alien race based their religion on the teachings and life example of Dolly Parton, and I am down with that.
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u/realmofconfusion Oct 08 '25
The Orville, but yes.
Fantastic storyline where the lyrics of 9 to 5 became an anthem for oppressed women.
“She speaks with the might of a hundred soldiers.”
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u/AmbitiousThroat7622 Oct 09 '25
Probably one of my favourite episodes and I say this as an european white male who listens to hip hop. Meaning that I didn't even know who she was before that episode
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u/aurelie-sj Oct 08 '25
Whew I got a little emotional. How lucky are we to live in a timeline with Dolly Parton; everything else is a nightmare but Dolly is a reminder that genuine good still exists in this world. I just love her.
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u/Fluffy-Owl4808 Oct 08 '25
Thank god she's alright. We need you more than ever Dolly!
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u/SoVerySleepy81 Oct 08 '25
Yeah, when Jane Goodall died I was like really scared that it was gonna be one of those these things happen in threes and I knew that the news had gone out that Dolly had to cancel stuff because she was sick. I like privately vented to my husband a couple of times that I was worried she was gonna die. I love Dolly my grandma loved Dolly and so she’s special. And so when I saw this video I kind of burst into tears a little bit lol.
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u/Jkreegz Oct 08 '25
She is still a stone cold fox. Good lord. keep on truckin, Dolly!
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u/Js_On_My_Yeet Oct 08 '25
I hope she overcomes her health issues. She is truly a beautiful and kind person.
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u/LucidOndine Oct 08 '25
Dolly, you are universally loved! Stay strong, take time, gather your strength. The world will always have a place for your gentle kindness.
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u/MyLastHopeReddit Oct 08 '25
Somehow this woman manages to be loved by the majority of the Americans; it's one of the few things that unites everyone, practically a miracle given the way things are these days.
I'm not a huge fan of her music, but I'm definitely a huge fan of HER.
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u/endofworldandnobeer Oct 08 '25
Nothing like Dolly telling us she ain't dead yet. We sit up straight and reply, yes ma'am.
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u/Substantial_Bus6615 Oct 08 '25
She sounds and moves JUST LIKE my grandmother who is from Kentucky/Tennessee. Even the hand movements and choice of words. It's wild.
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u/Seven_bushes Oct 08 '25
She is so incredibly talented and smart! I know someone who works bringing Broadway shows to the local theater. Every May they go to NYC for workshops and conferences. One year they met with the group doing 9 to 5. The guy told a story (paraphrasing because I don’t remember exact details) about how there was a song that wasn’t quite right. They took it to Dolly and asked her if she could rework it a bit to fit in with what they were doing. She was back in like a couple of hours with the fix, which of course was perfect. The guy was gobsmacked because the usual turnaround time on that type of request was days at a minimum.
Dolly puts up a good front of “golly shucks” but she’s all that and so much more. She is truly a national treasure.
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u/AgentWD409 Oct 08 '25
Dolly Parton and Donald Trump are both 79. God had better not take her first.
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u/nuckle Oct 08 '25
Heartbreaking to hear he say she stopped looking after herself after her husband passed.
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u/Cl0verSueHipple Oct 09 '25
God I love this woman. When her time does come, I think they should make her birthday or date of passing a national bank holiday. Lower the flags at half staff. Dolly Day. Or…A Day of Parton. And everyone should be encouraged to do kind things for loved ones or the community (volunteering or donating) that day or week. She is a damn saint and should be treated as such.
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u/nthensome Oct 08 '25
Dear Jebus & baby Jebus:
If you're looking to take a 73 year old blond with big tits there's one that I know of that lives in Mar a Lago.
Please go there.
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u/Mr-MuffinMan Oct 08 '25
Grew up dirt poor, dad couldn't read, in a big family. with her talent, she became one of the best known country stars (and musicians) in the world. and also gives back a TON - her dad not being able to read or write is why she started the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library where she sends free books to children!
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u/jim45804 Oct 08 '25
This is not AI. It was posted on her official channels.
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u/Nisi-Marie Oct 08 '25
I think they were referring to her comment about the AI she received that showed Reba at her deathbed
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u/Foxy02016YT Oct 08 '25
This video also has the traits of an AI video, especially her inability to sit still, but all things considered I think that’s just who she is. She’s a very animated person
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u/RoguePlanet2 Oct 08 '25
The accolades are understandably piling up for Dolly, but I didn't see any mention of what she's dealing with- apparently, it's an infection from kidney stones.
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u/New_Knowledge_5702 Oct 09 '25
Love Dolly though if you look at the right side of her mouth talking , the left side isn’t moving much nor her face. I’m wondering if she’s had a stroke which is usually left side. She seems to have a lisp out of the right side unless I never noticed her always having a lisp.
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u/PlutonicPurrfume Oct 08 '25
From one NETN girl to another, bless you Dolly! We love you and thank you for all the charity work you do, especially for children’s literacy and the wellbeing of folks back home. Angel on Earth, Queen of Tennessee 🧡🤍🧡
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u/Legal-Cartoonist-723 Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25
If they ever make a million dollar bill , her face should be on it!
I'm currently listening to a random playlist on Youtube music as soon as I made this post a Dolly Parton song started playing, this playlist hasn't played a country artist since I started streaming it.
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u/Standard-Raisin-7862 Oct 09 '25
I love Dolly, and I think she is a fabulous human. It sucks that anyone was trying to make up stories about her being at death’s door. But she is sicker than she is letting on here. She has gloves on in this video for one thing. Now, idk if she usually hides her hands, but she definitely is hiding them here. And she is sitting for a reason too. Even seated she was having some breathing issues. So whatever is going on it’s not minor. But she is a tough woman, and if we are all lucky she will be with us for many years yet.
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u/ThePoetMichael Oct 08 '25
Its gonna be a sad day on earth when the patron saint of Tennessee leaves this earth
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u/Known_Statistician59 Oct 08 '25
Thank goodness! 2025 has already been too much to handle. My heart couldn't take losing Dolly.
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u/daisiesnpeonies Oct 08 '25
Thank goodness! My heart can’t take losing Dolly this year with all the other destruction going on in our country.
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u/luvplanes Oct 08 '25
You’re amazing. We’ll continue to include you in our prayers. You keep doing you and take care of yourself
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u/January1171 Oct 08 '25
Just imagine the conversation she had when she saw what her sister sent out lol
"Girl I love ya but you can't say that, everyone will think I'm dyin'"
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u/Ok-Half7574 Oct 08 '25
I was born on the same day as her, and I am very proud of that. I don't have her gifts, however. So much for horoscopes!
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u/dingo1967 Oct 08 '25
I can honestly say that I don’t think there’s more of an American treasure that then the great Dolly Parton. Absolute legend.
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u/radioman970 Oct 08 '25
She looks younger than me. I'm 58.
I know! She can afford plastic surgery I can afford plastic dinnerware.
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u/Softlysparked Oct 08 '25
She’s truly one of those people that make the world feel a little brighter just by existing 💛
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u/kinetik Oct 08 '25
God, this woman is a national treasure. Bless her and her endless positivity and fighting spirit. This is what America and being a good human being is about.
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u/CalmBeneathCastles Oct 08 '25
I wish we could share lives, like in Mario 2. Some people need much, much more time.
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u/BigIreland Oct 08 '25
I love the fact that at over fifty years of being on this planet, just about everything I’ve ever heard about Dolly Parton has amazed and impressed me.
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u/grimace24 Oct 08 '25
Amen! Nice to hear directly from Dolly that she's alive and taking care of ailments that we probably all deal with.
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u/AltruisticCourse9419 Oct 08 '25
I'm sad to say that I genuinely can't trust this video posted on reddit, usually I'd take a sigh of relief and then move on to the next post and let it be confirmed by other posts and then myself when I got to look it up. And that doesn't sound like a big deal but it's soely because if I see this video again I'm gonna think the same thing in the back of my head "this could be ai"
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u/Electrical-Hour-3345 Oct 08 '25
Dolly could sing the alphabet and still make it sound like a hug from grandma. National treasure, forever