The late American television news anchor Barbara Walters faced intense criticism on social media on Tuesday following the death of country music icon Dolly Parton at age 80.
The online backlash erupted after a resurfaced 1977 broadcast on ABC News showed Walters asking Parton questions about her rural upbringing, physical appearance, plastic surgery, and marriage that viewers condemned as condescending and inappropriate.
Parton died on Tuesday morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, after being admitted to the hospital on Friday with autoimmune and kidney problems.
Walters, a pioneer in American television journalism who was born in Boston, conducted high-profile interviews for decades on ABC News before her death in 2022. Parton enjoyed a six-decade career in country music, earning global recognition for hit songs including Jolene and 9 to 5.
Resurfaced television interview questions
The controversial segment aired during a 1977 television broadcast. After Parton mentioned during the interview that she had been raised in a log cabin, Walters questioned the singer about her background.
"Dolly, where I come from, would I have called you a hillbilly?" Walters asked. The Boston-born journalist added, "When I think of hillbillies, am I thinking of your kind of people?"
Walters then turned her attention to Parton's appearance, asking, "Dolly, did you look like this when you were a kid?"
Gesturing toward Parton's chest, Walters asked, "When you were 11, 12, 13, was there this about you?"
The host subsequently asked Parton to stand up on set to show off her "curves". Walters then told the singer, "You don't have to look like this. You're very beautiful. You don't have to wear the blonde wigs, you don't have to wear the extreme clothes."
Parton's response to host
Parton defended her image during the broadcast, explaining that she was not trying to be fashionable and "was real where it counts, on the inside", before calling showbusiness "a money-making joke".
Walters responded by asking, "But do you ever feel that you're a joke? That people make fun of you?"
Parton answered the host without hesitation. "Oh I know they make fun of me, but actually, all these years, the people have thought that the joke was on me but it's actually been on the public," Parton said.
She added: "I know exactly what I'm doing and I can change it at any time. I make more jokes about myself than anybody because I'm sure of myself as a person. I am sure of my talent and I'm sure of my love for life. I'm very content. I like the kind of person that I am."
Social media reaction to interview
Following news of Parton's death, viewers recirculated clips of the 1977 exchange on social media platforms, praising Parton for how she handled the host's questions.
"Barbara thought she was talking to a hillbilly but in reality Dolly was so much more intelligent than her, not only in IQ but wit and manners, as perfectly displayed here," one fan wrote.
"I really don’t understand how Barbara Walters made it as far as she did she's so unbelievably condescending in every interview," commented another user. A third added, "Barbara Walters clearly came out on the losing end here. What an amazingly boorish snob, she was."
Posting the interview to X, another fan wrote: "Footage of that time Dolly Parton wrecked Barbara Walters for asking gross and inappropriate questions. Easily one of my favorite interviews of all time. Always a class act."
Final days of country music legend
Parton's passing was confirmed on Tuesday in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also served as her head of security.
Family members raced to Nashville after learning of Parton's hospitalization on Friday, though not all relatives were able to reach her before she died on Tuesday morning.
The singer had suffered months of health woes prior to her death, which led her to cancel several public appearances and raised concerns among fans.
Insiders close to the family indicated that a private service for close friends and relations will take place in Nashville within the next few days.
In an interview published in People magazine four days before her death, Parton declared she still had "so many things I want to achieve" and vowed to continue "working as long as I can to see everything come to life."
Parton explained that she had been grappling with "some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl."
