Dolly Parton’s death last month left the music industry, and the world, grieving.
Jane Fonda struggled to hold back her tears while paying tribute to Dolly Parton, insisting her late friend “meant love”.
The country singer died on August 25, aged 80, after losing a short battle with cancer – with her passing leaving the music industry, and the world, grieving.
Jane was a close friend of Dolly’s, and remembered her pal during an interview with Democracy Now!, becoming visibly emotional as she spoke about the Jolene star.
When asked what Dolly meant to her, Jane struggled as she said: “She meant love. She really did. She loved everyone.”
The 88-year-old actress went on to recall an example of how Dolly always thought of others, such as when she, Jane and her Grace and Frankie co-star Lily Tomlin were doing a photoshoot together.
“For fun”, Jane and Lily crossed their eyes in one of the snaps, but Dolly stepped in to explain why she didn’t approve of the joke.
Jane said: “She [Dolly] got very upset. She said, ‘We never can show this to anybody.’ She said, ‘It was like we’re making fun — I have a relative who’s cross-eyed, I don’t ever want to see this picture’.”
The interview continued with Jane remembering how Dolly used to interact with her fans, which she saw in action when they pair travelled through Tennessee and Arkansas together as the singer prepared to kick off her tour.
Jane added: “They [the fans] loved her so much [that] they accepted my presence. And it was so clear that she absolutely respected them. That was why there was so much love.
“She never played down. She always was pulled together. She was always who she was, out of respect for her fans.”
One of Dolly’s most admirable features, Jane concluded, was how she always made everyone laugh.
She said: “If she had gotten to the end of the day without her and her friends laughing so hard they had to cross their legs, then she would create a cause for laughter.
“She laughed all the time and made sure that everybody around her guffawed all the time.”
Jane Fonda struggles to hold back tears as she remembers Dolly Parton in emotional tribute
