Shortly after the news broke about Dolly Parton’s passing at the age of 80, Taylor Swift publicly spoke out.
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In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Swift paid tribute to the late country music legend.
“A world without Dolly doesn’t feel possible, real, or right,” the statement reads. “But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting one.”
Swift also stated that Parton was “truly the gift that kept on giving.”
“Dolly gave us someone to look up to while encouraging us to be who we are as individuals,” she continued. “Somehow she was able to give us her lessons about the world gently and honestly, simultaneously, and oftentimes hilariously. She managed to give the world the ultimate mystery and fantasy in some corners of her life, but to give full transparency in the ways that counted.”
Swift then pointed out that Parton was true grace and grit all in “one dazzling person.”
“She possessed the softest heart when it came to the struggles of others,” Swift noted. “And a backbone of steel to defend her own self worth as an artist.”
The country-turned-pop star noted that, along with Parton’s other fans, she was so grateful for everyone the late country music legend did.
“For the melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest hearts. For millions of books she provided children all over the world so that they might fall in love with stories the way she did,” Swift added. “For the tightropes she walked so that young girls like me could grow up dreaming of joining the circus too. Dolly, I’ll think of you each step of the way.”
Parton Sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ to Swift and Her Now-Husband Following Generous $2 Million Donation to Her Imagination Library
Weeks before her passing, Parton sang “I Will Always Love You” to Swift and her now-husband Travis Kelce for their generous $2 million donation to her nonprofit Imagination Library.
“Taylor and Travis, it’s Dolly, and I was just told that you two are making a donation of two million dollars to my Imagination Library,” she stated in a video. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m blown away and overjoyed with that gratitude.”
Parton then jokingly asked, “Hey, when you have your firstborn, can I have it? Because that is going to be one special baby!”
The “9 to 5” hitmaker also pointed out that her Dollywood Foundation’s mission is to “dream more, care more, learn more, and be more.” She went on to promise the couple’s donation would carry that vision forward “in bigger ways now with your money.”
She finished her video by singing “I Will Always Love You” to the couple.