Shocked Dolly Parton Fights Back After Woman Tries To Shut Down ‘Dixie Stampede’

A writer for Slate sparked controversy online after criticizing Dolly Parton’s Civil War-themed dinner theater show.

Writer Aisha Harris penned a piece for Slate about her experience in Tennessee seeing Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, a show that has been running for several decades. In the article, Harris argued that the show glorified the Civil War and complained that the show neglected to acknowledge slavery while referencing Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

“What do you think of the fact that in the show they claim ‘we’re all winners’ and ‘there’s no North and South,’ considering everything that’s happening in the news lately?” Harris said she asked a couple sitting next to her, who were visiting the Tennessee theater from New York.

“Look, it’s all bulls**t,” the man replied. “But that’s the way it is down here.”

Some of the reviews for the show, Harris noted, were particularly dismissive of the portrayal of plantations and southerners in the show.

“This is 2015 and it’s just not tasteful any more to refer to mint juleps and southern belles when those plantations were places of such terrible suffering for so many people,” one review stated.

After Harris’ article was published, many criticized her and stood up for Parton and the intentions of her show.

“Dolly Parton has more class in her finger nail clippings than this BLM race baiter has in her whole body. Her theme park has put more people to work than this woman has. To call Dolly Parton too American is an insult not only Dolly Parton but all of that consider ourselves Americans,” one Mad World News reader commented on the site’s Facebook page.

“Dolly Parton is a good woman. Folks around here in Sevier County love her. It would behoove those who intend to cause Dolly any kind of harm to leave her alone completely. Lot of mysterious things happen in our mountains,” another wrote.

Others spoke to their own experiences with the legendary show.

“We just came back from Branson this past weekend. We loved the Dixie Stampede show,” one reader commented. “It was a fun night. Our tickets sat us on the north side. We are devout southerners. It was all in good fun and we cheered on our side. I went to the ladies room twice. Once in the southerners stall and once in the northerners stall. Wonder if these activist actually have jobs or they just spend their time rioting in the street. Some people will do anything to get attention and keep drama stirred up. And the media feeds on them like hungry piranhas.”

Sources: Slate, Mad World News/Facebook / Featured Image: pipilongstockings/Flickr / Embedded Images: Eva Rinaldi/Wikipedia Commons, pipilongstockings/Flickr