What are we about to do right
now? We're going to look at why I think Dolly Parton was wrong for
turning down the statue of herself. This is time for the monthly segment where
we focus on good news, instead of the world literally falling apart. I'm choosing this Dolly
Parton subject because it's a bit more than just music. It actually represents a longstanding
thing that's been going on in the United States. But before we do that, we have to do a comment
shout-out. I'm so used to D'Angelo sitting down that it surprised me that he has legs. I regret
to inform you, it's not legs you're seeing. It's an extremely inflated visual effects budget.
The Southern United States has a bit of an image problem for containing a bunch of people
that are racist and backwards. However, if you live here, then you can also speak to
the fact that there's a lot of good things about the Southern United States. The reason
we're talking about Dolly Parton is because in my opinion, she represents everything that's
truly great about the Southern United States. Before we get into this, let's get into today's
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D'angelo. Now let's get back to the video. So this story starts off with racism. There's a
statue in Tennessee of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a KU Klux Klan member. Representative Jeremy
Faison said the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, an edition installed at the Capitol in
1978, was part of history and should be left alone. Representative G.A. Hardaway
asked Faison if he had ever read any of Forrest's own writings about his ideology.
This Tennessee Republican began the process of understanding what he describes as a pain of
Forrest's legacy. So the question remains, who exactly should they replace it with? People really
wanted it to be Dolly Parton. And I'm going to be fully honest with you, so did I. And as you can
see, 25,000 people signed it. In a strange twist of fate it worked. Tennessee legislature said,
"Okay, you know what? We will replace the statue with a statue of the one and only Dolly Parton."
But someone came between us and that, and it was not someone who I expected. It was Dolly Parton.
Dolly Parton said no with a heart emoji. "I want to thank the Tennessee legislature for their
consideration of a bill to erect a statue of me on the Capitol grounds. But I've asked the leaders
of the state legislature to remove the bill from any and all consideration. Given all that is
going on in the world, I don't think putting me on the pedestal is appropriate at this time." Who's
going to tell her that she actually deserves it? Now here's the crazy part. Clearly this means
that no one actually asks before putting up statues because I've never heard of this happening
before. So the state put out a response. Faison, that guy was like, he honors her wish for no
statue and said that he has a replacement. There was an overlooked historical figure
who would be a great statue replacement. Anne Dallas Dudley, suffragette, women's right
activist, and, if we're being honest, style icon. It sounds like I'm making fun of the women's
rights movement. It's just the accent. Trust me. I'm allowed to do that. I live here. Since Dolly
Parton won't hype herself up, I'm about to do it for her. We are going to look at the actual
reason that people say Dolly Parton is so great. Many people depend on the Dollywood company,
which is the largest employer in the rural tourism dependence of your county and whose main
attractions draw over 3 million visitors annually. It was popping off before COVID-19
started its world tour. Keeping people employed and paid is a particular priority for Parton
who continues to pay her band, even though she hasn't toured since 2016, as well as her personal
staffers during the pandemic. She literally said, all right, we're not going to give people
COVID, but I still need to pay people. She's had 25 number one singles on Billboard's
Hot Country Songs chart, and is also the only artist to have a top 20 hit on that chart in
every decade, from the 1960s to the 2010s. And you best believe we are going to give her her
2020s top 20 hit. Y'all are crazy if you think we're not about to stream Dolly Parton into
her... Six, seven, eight, nine zero, ten... Seventh consecutive decade of being popular.
Wait sixth, sixth, seventh. Yeah, seventh. Then there are her numerous branding and licensing
deals. In March, she reimagined Nine to Five as a birthday song and spent two days recording
800 names for personalized e-cards as part of a deal with American greetings, which is
also selling the line of Parton themed cards at Walmart. She partnered with international
licensing company IMG for a series of home goods and bake ware. She really just
said, if there's money to be made, then I'm going to be making it. Dolly Parton
used to have a ride in her Dollywood amusement parks called the Dixie Stampede. Seeing as the
term Dixie is associated with the Confederacy, Dolly Parton was like, wait, maybe we
shouldn't be making the Civil War seem like it was great fun and fashionable. Maybe we can
just rename it. We'll just call it The Stampede. As soon as you realize that something is a
problem, you should fix it. Don't be dumb, Dolly Parton said. Apparently, according to
Dolly Parton, you can just listen to people saying that and then change your behavior
accordingly because your intentions are not to offend others. That's crazy. Here I
was thinking that was not a thing anymore. Billboard decided to ask her about Black
Lives Matter. "I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen. And
of course, black lives matter. Do we think our old white behinds are the only ones that matter?
No." She really just said black lives matter, period. Now, while I was Googling that actually
saw this video right here. Look at that. I looked at her quote in particular. It was so
sassy and a sensitive comment about something that got a lot of friction in the air right now.
This is Dolly Parton's impact. She literally highlights the good in the South. It's not
all terrible. What else do you want? She's a talented singer. She's well-known for her
iconic looks. She's basically a cutthroat business woman. And yet she harms nobody.
How about epidemiologist queen? Did she do any research? No. What she did instead was donate
$1 million to COVID-19 research. I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt. Dolly
Parton is really out here giving substantial amounts of money to extremely important causes.
This amount of money that Dolly Parton donated was so substantial it turned out to be the Moderna
COVID-19 vaccine. That's what came out of her $1 million, a vaccine that is 95% effective.
And on top of that, just so you guys know, she started this fund called the Imagination
Library. Every month, the non-profit program mails a free book to more than a million children. As of
2018, they passed 100 million of those three books by the way. I can't deal with Dolly Parton. And
yet we're still about to watch a bunch of videos. First, we are going to watch Dolly Parton
answers the web's most searched questions. Hi, I'm Dolly Parton, and today I'll be doing
the Wired auto complete interview. I don't Google myself because I pretty much know what I'm up to.
And if I don't know, all I've got to do is pick up a National Enquirer magazine. Yeah right.
She just said I am the news. Is Dolly Parton married? Well, yes I am married.
I have been with my husband for 56 years. We dated for two years before we married.
That's cute. So we've been together most our lives, and
we're still happy. Can you believe that? Deserved.
Can Dolly Parton yodel? I guess I can. (sings) Everybody can do that one, right?
No. Now there's this one. Dolly Parton watches fan covers.
(singing) That's good. Her voice is crazy.
I never sang that good. (singing) Wow, that's great. Oh my God!
Yeah, no, I can go on. I can move forward in life now.
I'm happy. I'm done. Stick a fork in me. I'm done.
I'm completely floored. You go girl. Is she watching me?
She doesn't even believe it. That's so cool. Gosh, she's amazing.
Anyway, my point has been made. Dolly Parton continues to be iconic, and literally
nobody is surprised. All jokes aside, statues are designed to represent people that
represent places very well. As somebody who lives in the Southern United States, I could not
think of a single person that I want representing the place I'm from more than Dolly Parton. I
guess if we've learned anything from this day, is that all of 2021 could use a
bit of Dollyizing if you will. Anyway, I'll be here all week folks at 2:00
PM Central Time. If it's Monday, Wednesday, Friday, that means I'm uploading a new video
here. If it's Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, that means I'm going live over on Twitch.
So basically what I'm saying is I'll see you tomorrow. Unless of course tomorrow is Sunday,
in which case, just watch this video again. Okay.
