Dolly Parton Couldn’t Have Held Her Own With Barbara Walters if Their Interview Happened Earlier

Dolly Parton's team worried an interview with Barbara Walters was a bad idea. One person shared why it would have been a mistake in earlier years.

In 1977, Dolly Parton agreed to an interview with Barbara Walters. Several people in her life warned her against doing the interview, but she felt it would be a good career move. Parton displayed a level of confidence that endeared her to the public. Hal Durham, a manager at the Grand Ole Opry, said Parton would not have come across so well if the interview had happened several years before.

Dolly Parton held her own in an interview with Barbara Walters

In her 1977 interview with Walters, Parton was poised and confident when Walters asked if Parton believed people saw her as a joke.

“Oh I know they make fun of me, but all these years the people have thought the joke was on me, but it’s actually on them,” Parton said, per Elle. “I am sure of myself as a person. I am sure of my talent. I’m sure of my love for life and that sort of thing. I am very content, I like the kind of person that I am. So, I can afford to piddle around and do-diddle around with makeup and clothes and stuff because I am secure with myself.”

According to Durham, Parton likely would not have responded in this way, if the interview had taken place in earlier years.

“I’m not sure Dolly could have done that Barbara Walters interview two or three years ago,” Durham said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “She might not have been that outspoken. She would probably have been that honest, but I’m not sure she would have said as much as she did.”

He believed she had gained confidence in her crossover career. She knew this was a controversial move and it took bravery to execute it.

“It’s probably a matter of confidence,” he said. “When she made the move to cross over, she knew that people were going to criticize her for it, and for that, you have to have a certain confidence in yourself.”

Dolly Parton said people warned her about meeting with Barbara Walters

While Parton came across well in the interview, some people in her life were concerned she would not. Parton didn’t worry about this. She respected Walters and trusted her to conduct the interview fairly.

“When I decided to do my first Barbara Walters special, a lot of people warned, ‘Oh, you’re crazy to do that! She’ll chew you up and spit you out,’” Parton wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “Nothing could have been further from the truth. Barbara is a very insightful person. Once she realized I was real, that my insides weren’t as phony as my outsides, she got completely into it.”

She said the interview was good for her public image

Upon reflection, Parton said she was glad she did the interview with Walters. She believed it was an opportunity for her to show the public her true self.

“Before that special, I think a lot of people were curious about me but didn’t quite know what to think,” she wrote. “Just like Barbara, they found out I was real and took me into their hearts. That special did incredible things for me, and I have gone back to do others. Barbara and I have always had a mutual respect and admiration, and I’m sure that will continue.”

Even in recent years, Parton has received praise for the way she handled herself in the interview.