Why Do We Need Dolly To Be A Saint?

In recent weeks, multiple news sources (including NPR) ran stories on Dolly Parton, claiming she had, with the royalties she made from Whitney Houston's cover of "I Will Always Love You," invested in a Black community in Nashville decades ago. These reports failed to acknowledge how exactly the singer invested in the neighborhood — beyond purchasing property in an area that has heavily gentrified in recent decades — while also presenting misleading claims about Parton's own assertions. The reports resurfaced America's love affair with the country star; media sources have become so quick to feed the public feel-good stories about Parton that routine fact-checking has gone overlooked.

Dolly Parton is having a moment — and has been, for the last half century. The singer, who first got her big in 1967, has endured as one of the savviest business minds in the entertainment industry, transforming herself over the past several decades from the great singer/songwriter she has always been into a larger-than-life figure that's expanded her brand to include a theme park, popular films, and a lovable caricature of herself that's captivated generations.