Country music legend Dolly Parton may be universally considered a gem, but her younger sister Stella has been dragged on social media recently for a string of increasingly odd posts that have been viewed as racist.
Stella Parton, who is also a country music singer-songwriter, is very active on Twitter, often posting about national issues and state politics in Tennessee, where she resides. Much of her activism for women and criticism of Trump Republicans has gained notoriety among progressives, who have been quite shocked by seemingly anti-Black rants the singer started in February.
“Once I had a next door neighbor/ white guy steal mail from my box and forge my checks that I had used to pay my monthly bills. The police did nothing. How racist is that? It’s human rights,” Parton posted on Feb. 23, appearing to discredit persistent racism within police departments. “We all have rights and when someone violates your human rights it’s a crime against you!”
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“It was three white police officers who assaulted my human rights in my home,” she followed up. “Does that also make me a racist?”
In another tweet thread that day, Parton railed about so-called reverse discrimination.
“There’s also a hell of a lot of reverse discrimination in this country as well,” she wrote.
“When is the last time black people have included or stood up for the indigenous/native Americans in this country?” Parton asked. “It’s all a me me me mentality in America. White people aren’t all evil and I resent that accusation from my perspective. Many of us believe in equality for all.”
That’s the moment when other social media users chimed in, pulling apart Parton’s claims. But Dolly’s younger sister didn’t back down, instead delving into Tyre Nichols’ death, critical race theory, and illegal immigration—before claiming that white people were really the victims.
“Memphis Tennessee had five black cops in a (special) group beat and murder a young innocent black kid for no reason. They lied and said he was driving reckless. Total officers fired was seven, all black,” Parton tweeted. “Was this a race crime or evil running loose m [sic]? Black comedians get…up and joke about using the N word but whites can’t use it. They think that’s hilarious. How is that for making things better? Some white people are trying to make things better but what about a lil help? You have a platform, use it for good not devision [sic].”
The chaos didn’t end there. On Feb. 24, Parton went on a bizarre rant about “two lil black kids” in Baltimore who allegedly stole a car with Dolly Parton vanity plates, then seemingly slammed critical race theory for supposedly focusing too much on Black history, and questioned statues of Confederate leaders being torn down.
The Tennessee native also used a minor fender bender to blast out anti-immigrant views.
Then on Feb. 26, she whined that white people were being made to feel like victims.
“Drugs, greed, ego and more hate in all echelons of our society is the issue but let’s blame it all on white people since it has to be someones fault,” she wrote in a lengthy thread. “No one else will dare look at themselves. Everyone is guilty of prejudice, bigotry, misogyny, racism, ageism, elitism.”
On March 1, Parton ironically recommended the book Race-Baiter by Eric Deegans.
Social media users have been quick to call out Parton, explaining how she’s missing the mark when it comes to racial justice.
“@StellaParton reverse racism isn't a thing, white people have never ever been the victims of systemic racism,” one fan tweeted. “Also chastising black Americans for not doing enough to support the people white Americans committed genocide against is an obscene act. So disappointed and unfollowing.”
“I followed @StellaParton & believed she was an ally for ALL,” another social media user wrote. “Her recent spate of hateful, racist tweets, though, has been such a big disappointment & so uncharacteristic of her - I honestly hoped she'd been hacked. When I realized it WAS her, I couldn't unfollow fast enough.”
Others accused Parton of blocking them after they tried to engage in meaningful conversation.
Parton has claimed that her account has been hacked a few times over the course of the last month, but she never clarified which tweets—outside of those providing relationship advice—were not actually hers.
Meanwhile, Dolly has come out in support of Black Lives Matter and donated funds from Whitney Houston’s rendition of “I Will Always Love You” to a Black community in Nashville.
In a statement to The Daily Beast about the accusations of racism, Stella Parton said her social media followers know she is a firm supporter of equality, Black Lives Matter, women’s rights, reproductive rights, religious freedom, and children.
“All humanity has a right to equal justice, respect and freedom,” she wrote in an email. “I have always felt this way even before growing up in the sixties. My mother taught us that all humanity was equal in the eyes of the creator.”
She said her views were not dictated by politics, but by “human rights.”
“I’m not responsible for how and what people say and do on Social media,” she added. “I’m only responsible for myself.”
Representatives for Dolly did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.
