By Michaela Gordoni
Despite being highly qualified, Dolly Parton never wants to be a judge on a singing competition show like THE VOICE or AMERICAN IDOL.
“I’ve been asked to do that a lot of times,” Parton recently explained to E! News. “It’s too hard for me. That’s why I don’t accept it, because I know how sincere everybody is.”
“Even if they’re not that good, they believe they are,” she added. “And I just can’t hurt people.”
This fits the bill for the positive, encouraging performer who’s known for songs like “I’ll Keep on Climbing” and “9 to 5.”
In 2008, she did star as a guest mentor on AMERICAN IDOL Season 7. Several contestants sang some of her songs, including David Cook, who won that season. She also came on as a guest mentor on THE VOICE in 2015 and 2016.
Parton told Taste of Country in 2023, “I get asked every season to be on…I really have trouble judging people. I would have a lot of trouble telling them yes or no — especially no.”
“Sometimes I will [be on] as a mentor or something like that. But yeah, I get offers all the time,” she said.
She still enjoys watching the shows and hearing how the contestants sing their own version of her songs.
“I love the fact that a lot of them do use different songs like ‘I Will Always Love You,’ ‘Jolene’ or ‘9 to 5.’ I hear a lot of my songs on there. That’s a great treat,” she shared.
Related: Dolly Parton Announces Broadway Show Based On Her Life
“I just always hate to see them lose, even though I’m very proud of the ones that win, and they deserve it, because the public [votes] on that,” she continued. “But I just feel their little hearts. I hate it when they don’t win.”
She shared that she is starting her own network and hopes that she can make her own singing show that’s more positive.
“I’ll probably be doing different things at different times, and maybe create a show where it could really be positive,” she said. “Although those are fantastic shows. I love watching it. I would just have trouble being a judge of somebody’s talent.”
Off the stage, she still doesn’t like to evaluate people or place judgment on them.
“I love people…It ain’t my place to judge anybody. And it’s nobody else’s place to do it, either,” she told Mojo.
Reba McEntire also turned down many offers to judge for the same reasons as Parton but finally conceded and recently became a judge on THE VOICE again for Season 28.
“Oh, the scheduling was totally it,” she told TODAY of why she didn’t judge the most recent season. “I thought Kelsea Ballerini did such a great job. That was a really good pick with her.”
While Parton has held firm on her commitment not to judge a singing competition show, anything could happen.
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