Dolly Parton Wanted to Alter an Insulting Comment She Made About Elton John in Her Playboy Interview
In 1978, Dolly Parton appeared on the cover of Playboy and sat down for an interview that spanned 17 pages. After concluding the interview, though, Parton had second thoughts about a comment she made about Elton John. She contacted writer Lawrence Grobel to ask him to alter her words.
Dolly Parton agreed to do an interview with Playboy in 1978
Though she had her reservations, Parton agreed to appear on the cover of Playboy. Her appearance on the cover depended on whether or not she approved of the picture. She also did not want to appear nude in the magazine.
“I wasn’t naked,” she said, per the book Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton. “All you saw was me in my bunny suit, with my boobs sticking out a little. I wouldn’t do a layout. I’m not that brave, nor do I look that good.”
Parton did eventually approve of the photo, in which she poses in a black Playboy Bunny suit and ears.
“[It’s] the wildest thing I’ve ever done in the line of publicity,” she said, though she added, “It’s only because there’s a real lengthy article in there that I’m quite proud of.”
Afterward, she wanted to edit a comment she made about Elton John
The version of the article that Parton was proud of required a bit of editing on her part. Apparently, as the publication date came closer, Parton reached out to Grobel. The pair had become friends during the interview process, and she wanted to read the completed article. Though Grobel didn’t feel comfortable with that, he sent her the galleys. Soon, Parton reached back out, hoping to alter one of her comments.
During the interview, Parton discussed the trajectory of her career and referenced John as an example of someone with declining star power. She wanted to put the word “an” in front of his name to not be so specific.
“Most people say in this business the life span of a career is five years from the time you really get hot to the time you start getting colder, like an Elton John,” the updated comment reads. “Maybe I shouldn’t call names.”
Though she wanted the comment to less directly target John, the final interview still does include him as someone Parton thought was “getting colder.”
Dolly Parton recreated her Playboy cover shoot
Years after her iconic cover shoot, Parton recreated the photo for her husband Carl Thomas Dean’s birthday. Initially, she wanted to reappear on the cover, but Playboy ended its printed magazine.
“Remember some time back I said I was going to pose for Playboy magazine when I was 75?” she said, per EW. “Well, I’m 75 and they don’t have a magazine anymore but my husband always loved the original cover of Playboy, so I was trying to think of something to do to make him happy. He still thinks I’m a hot chick after 57 years — and I’m not going to try to talk him out of that.”
The new photo, positioned next to the original, was a birthday present for Dean.
