Julia Stiles has paid tribute to Dolly Parton on the US version of Dancing With The Stars, revealing that the country music legend personally approved the use of her hit song 9 To 5 just weeks before her death.
Stiles performed a quickstep to the song with her dance partner, Ezra Sosa, telling viewers that she felt honoured to be dancing to Parton’s music and representing her legacy.
“It was only a couple weeks before Dolly passed that she approved this song specifically for me,” Stiles said. “I’m so honoured to be dancing to her music and honouring her legacy, and I want to make her proud.”
The performance, which featured a theatrical style from Stiles and Sosa, received a standing ovation from the ballroom audience.
Asked by co-host Julianne Hough what it meant to perform the song, Stiles said 9 To 5 was the first track discussed and one she had particularly wanted to use.
“We didn’t know what was gonna happen. She cleared it, and I just feel so honoured, like, to honour Dolly,” Stiles said. “She’s such a powerhouse and the song is so great. Like, it’s such an anthem. And, yeah, what a legend.”
Stiles added that the song had been chosen before Parton’s death and that nobody involved had known what was going to happen.
“And now I’m just, like, so honoured to dance to her music,” she said.
Parton died aged 80 on August 25 following a brief battle with cancer. Her career spanned more than six decades and included music, philanthropy and human rights advocacy.
She also left behind an unreleased song, My Place In History, which is due to be opened and played in 2046, on what would have been her 100th birthday.
