‘The Voice’ Star Reba McEntire Never Calls or Texts Dolly Parton
NBC’s The Voice Season 24 welcomes newcomer Reba McEntire to the stage. While we all miss Blake Shelton, McEntire brings a sense of wisdom and experience that few other judges can bring. And she recently discussed her longstanding friendship with country queen Dolly Parton. McEntire and Parton have an unusual way of communicating, though — and it’s all Parton’s fault.
‘The Voice’ star Reba McEntire said Dolly Parton ‘does not text’ — she only faxes
The Voice Season 24 star Reba McEntire adores Dolly Parton. McEntire has admired Parton since the ’70s, and Parton stepped in to help McEntire when McEntire’s band members were killed in the ’90s. Eight members of McEntire’s band died in a plane crash. After the tragedy, Parton contacted McEntire and offered the country singer her band and organization.
Then, in 2020, Parton celebrated her friendship with McEntire by guest speaking on McEntire’s podcast. “With a friendship that’s lasted over 40 years, @reba and I always have a lot to talk about!” Parton tweeted. “I am honored to be a guest on her brand new podcast, Living & Learning with Reba McEntire.”
The country stars have a rock-solid friendship in 2023. So, why doesn’t McEntire call or text Parton? According to The Voice star, Parton prefers to communicate via fax machine.
“Dolly does not text,” McEntire told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live.
When Cohen questioned whether McEntire calls or emails Parton, she simply told him, “Fax.”
“I don’t have her telephone number,” McEntire added. “And I asked Kenny Rogers one time. I said, ‘Do you have Dolly’s number?’ He’s like, ‘No.'”
“You know what? Maybe he said that because he didn’t want to give it to me,” McEntire jokingly added. “I don’t know.”
Dolly Parton says her friends tease her about not using her phone
The Voice Season 24 star Reba McEntire isn’t the only one forced to fax Dolly Parton. While on The View, Parton said, “Actually, I don’t want to get into that world,” when discussing phones and social media. “I’m surrounded by enough people. … So, I actually, I never did get into getting involved in all that because it’ll take up too much of my time if I tried to get in touch with everybody who is trying to get in touch with me. So, I just say, ‘Fax me! Fax me or call me, and I’ll call you back.’”
“Kenny Rogers used to aggravate me about it,” Parton recalled. “I said, ‘Look, I’ll send you a message by carrier pigeon if I need to get in touch with you. You always seem to know how to reach me when you want something!’”
Parton’s goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, spoke on Parton’s love of the fax machine, too. “Every time I coordinate and kind of communicate with Dolly, it’s still through fax,” Cyrus said on Late Night With Seth Meyers. “She’s rarely on the phone. … We do use the phone, but she does a fax, and then someone scans the fax, and then they put it into a text message, and then that gets sent to me. And it’s always signed.”
The Voice Season 24 airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
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