The late Barbara Walters is currently being eviscerated on social media over a ‘gross and inappropriate’ interview she did with Dolly Parton.
The 1977 interview resurfaced after Parton’s shock death at age 80 on Tuesday.
During the infamous ABC News interview, Walters inferred that Parton was a ‘hillbilly’ and a ‘joke’, questioned her plastic surgery and blonde bombshell appearance, and appeared baffled by Parton’s marriage to Carl Dean.
After Parton revealed that she was raised in a log cabin, Walters responded, ‘Dolly, where I come from, would I have called you a hillbilly?’
The Boston-born journalist added, ‘When I think of hillbillies, am I thinking of your kind of people?’
After that, Walters turned to Parton’s appearance and asked, ‘Dolly, did you look like this when you were a kid?’
The late Barbara Walters is currently being eviscerated on social media over a ‘gross and inappropriate’ interview she did with Dolly Parton back in 1977
She then gestured towards Parton’s chest and said, ‘When you were 11, 12, 13, was there this about you?’
Walters then asked Parton to stand up and show off her ‘curves’, before snidely stating, ‘You don’t have to look like this. You’re very beautiful. You don’t have to wear the blonde wigs, you don’t have to wear the extreme clothes.’
Parton explained that she wasn’t trying to be fashionable and ‘was real where it counts, on the inside’, before calling showbusiness ‘a money-making joke’.
Walters then responded, ‘But do you ever feel that you’re a joke? That people make fun of you?’
Without skipping a beat, Parton shot back, ‘Oh I know they make fun of me, but actually, all these years, the people have thought that the joke was on me but it’s actually been on the public.’
She continued, ‘I know exactly what I’m doing and I can change it at any time. I make more jokes about myself than anybody because I’m sure of myself as a person. I am sure of my talent and I’m sure of my love for life. I’m very content. I like the kind of person that I am.’
The interview resurfaced on social media shortly after Parton’s death, with netizens praising Parton for how she handled Walters’ ‘condescending’ questions.
‘Barbara thought she was talking to a hillbilly but in reality Dolly was so much more intelligent than her, not only in IQ but wit and manners, as perfectly displayed here,’ wrote one fan.
During the infamous ABC News interview, Walters inferred that Parton was a ‘hillbilly’ and a ‘joke’, questioned her plastic surgery and her marriage
The interview resurfaced on social media shortly after Parton’s death, with netizens praising Parton for how she handled Walters’ ‘condescending’ questions
‘I really don’t understand how Barbara Walters made it as far as she did she’s so unbelievably condescending in every interview,’ commented another.
A third added, ‘Barbara Walters clearly came out on the losing end here. What an amazingly boorish snob, she was.’
Posting the interview to X, another fan wrote, ‘Footage of that time Dolly Parton wrecked Barbara Walters for asking gross and inappropriate questions. Easily one of my favorite interviews of all time. Always a class act.’
The legendary country singer’s death was confirmed Tuesday in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also acted as her head of security.
She died Tuesday morning at age 80 after being admitted Friday to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems.
Parton’s loved ones began racing to Nashville upon hearing news of her hospitalization, but not all were able to reach her while she was alive.
Parton died Tuesday morning at age 80 after being admitted Friday to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems
Parton, who is often referred to as the Queen of Country, enjoyed an illustrious music career that spanned an incredible six decades and was arguably best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5.
Her passing came after months of health woes that saw her pull out of a string of public appearances, fueling fan fears for her wellbeing.
Family insiders indicated that a private service for close friends and relations will be held in Nashville within the next few days.
In an interview published just four days before her death, Parton had declared she still had ‘so many things I want to achieve’ and vowed to continue ‘working as long as I can to see everything come to life,’ via People.
She explained that she had been grappling with ‘some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.’
